The Princess of Oz
by MyLittleElphie
Summary: Turning twenty, Princess Glinda Arduenna, the first of her name, is preparing to become the new Queen of Oz, taking over the reign from the Wonderful Wizard, who has been running the country ever since her parents had passed away. However, there is just one minute detail her governess Madame Morrible has failed to mention. AU. Booksical. Gelphie :)
1. Chapter One: A Slight Complication

**AN:**

**Hello Dearies! HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

_A new Year, a new story! _

_Well, before you get too excited, let me explain one thing first:_

_This is some sort of teaser. I've started writing this story and I'll continue to pre-write a couple of chapters before I'll start posting on a regular basis. So for now this first chapter is all you will get. The next chapter will follow in exactly two months' time (1st of March) and from then on I'll hopefully update weekly (but no promises since I'll go back to uni around that time). If you can't wait that long for the first update, turn 'round and come back in two months ;) _

_It's not gonna be a super long multi-chap, I think. My best guess would be around 15 chapters, but it could be more or less in the end._

_The main reason for publishing the first chap early is so that I can get some advise and constructive criticism before things are in full swing (actually, that's a tiny bit of a lie... I'm also super impatient and 4 months after completion of this chap I could simply not take the wait any more lol) . Hopefully that will later positively reflect on my story. _

_Ok, so anyhow..._

_Thank you for your interest in '_The Princess of Oz'_ and please enjoy this short 'preview'!_

_xoxox MLE :3_

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><p><strong>Chapter One: A Slight Complication<strong>

Glinda Arduenna, the first of her name, Princess – and soon to be Queen – of all of Oz, disembarked the emerald carriage that had brought her the entire, long way from her childhood home in Gillikin to the Emerald City. A large crowd of staff were gathered around her as she, for the very first time in over fifteen years, laid eyes upon the palace that was to be her new permanent residence from now on.

Relieved to finally get out of the juddering coach and to at last be back on terra firma, she stretched her arms in the air, producing a high-pitched squeal.

From the other side of the carriage, a large, imposing and remarkably fish-faced woman, bedecked in a pompous dress, fashioned to suit a queen, emerged. She strutted past the welcome committee, taking in every single face, whilst staring at the maids and kitchen hands and footmen with eyes as cold as ice. When she came to stand next to the young Princess, she cleared her throat.

The petite woman looked up at her and immediately dropped her arms. Assuming a more appropriate posture, she went on to straighten out the long, voluminous skirt of her green brocade gown.

"Your Highness, we probably should seek our chambers and freshen up before we sup with the Wizard," the odd woman suggested in an impassible tone of voice and Glinda nodded silently.

A footman showed the ladies to their respective rooms, while four pages busied themselves with their luggage. The palace was anything but small and to the weary Princess it seemed like an eternity until they finally arrived at the door to her private quarters.

The footman opened the door for her and as soon as she set foot into the spacious apartment, her eyes opened in wonder and she had to remind herself that is was unbecoming for a princess to gape. Her mansion in Frottica, where she had spent most of her childhood, had been generous in size and more than comfortable, but this room alone was far more ostentatious than anything she had ever seen. Granted, before the tragic death of her parents, she had been living in the Emerald Palace. She had been but a small child then though, and could now barely remember the sound of her mother's voice, let alone what their home had looked like.

The entire suite was decorated with elaborated stucco relief. The walls were of a light mint green hue, the ceiling in splendid white. Most furnishings, such as the ottoman, the pair of wingchairs in front of the fireplace and the padded chair at the bureau were upholstered with a slightly darker green material and matching the curtains perfectly in colour and pattern. The bureau, as well as the small coffee table and the sideboard were made of quoxwood, stained in a dark chocolate brown.

Her entire life, Glinda had known that she was the Princess of Oz, but had always had a rather vague idea of what that was supposed to mean. In this very moment, however, she almost already felt like the queen she was about to become.

Once all of her luggage had been placed neatly in her room, the pages and the footman left. A maid rushed inside and the older woman who had accompanied her, headed for her own chambers, reminding the Princess one last time to be ready for dinner in precisely one hour.

Still marvelling at the beauty and size of her apartment, Glinda explored it room for room. She was currently standing in the her own little drawing room from where three different doors lead to a small morning room with large windows, through which sunlight would flood on fair mornings, an even smaller reading room with well-stocked bookshelves and a desk, and a generous bedroom.

She decided to have a closer look at the morning room after tomorrow's breakfast – as was appropriate - and, in the interim, ignore the reading room, since books were not quite her preferred source of entertainment anyhow.

The first thing she noticed in her bedroom was the large four-poster and she fully approved. She was certain that she would sleep heavenly among the soft pillows and the thick comforter. As she laid eyes on the washstand with its basin, pitchers and towels, she frowned. Of course she had to freshen up, but her dresses were all still stowed away in the heavy trunks and she feared they would turn out to be all creased and crushed.

The maid seemed to have read her mind, for she quickly rushed towards the large armoire and pulled out a beautiful gown.

"I think this outfit is fairly suitable for the evening, if Her Royal Highness agrees."

Glinda ran a dainty hand over the expensive material and stifled an excited squeal.

"Yes, this will do nicely."

Her maid helped her as she washed her face, dressed and re-arranged her hair. No sooner had she finished getting all dolled-up to make herself presentable, she heard a light knocking in the door. One hour had passed quickly, and when the maid opened the door, the Princess's chaperone was on the other side, accompanied by the same footman they had seen earlier.

They were lead to the large dining room where a greying, middle-aged man greeted them enthusiastically.

"Princess Glinda, Your Highness." He made a low bow and kissed her hand. "Always such a pleasure to see you. And oh, my dear, dare I say it, you have truly blossomed! Last time we met you were but a young, sweet girl, now you are a beautiful, graceful woman," he flattered and the Princess giggled.

"How do you enjoy your chambers," he enquired, "is everything to your satisfaction."

"To my satisfaction?" she asked with a high, clear laugh. "Everything is absolutely marvellous. I had completely forgotten how grand this palace is."

The Wizard nodded.

"Well, at times it all seems a bit much, I would say, but this is what people expect from the royal family and one always has to give the people what they want; that is the secret key to popularity and devoted subjects."

Then he finally turned his attention towards the large, fish-faced woman. She had put on some more make-up, which she now wore like a white mask.

"Madame Morrible. I am so glad to see you again and I must thank you for your faithful services throughout all those years. I can already tell that you have done very well in looking after the Princess."

"It has been a pleasure," she replied with the faintest smile.

"Well, now that Her Highness is coming off age, I think there will be other positions we might consider you for, but that is talk for later. For now, let us eat."

It was a little early for dinner, however, after the long journey, both women were rather famished and an early meal very welcome.

Once they had finished the main course and were waiting for the dessert to be brought out, Glinda cleared her throat and offered the Wizard an enchanting smile.

"I thank you, Your Wizardness, for looking after our beautiful Oz for all those years of my minority."

"I am glad I could be of assistance," the man replied modestly. "Your mother, the last Ozma, was well beloved by the people of Oz and it fills me with pride to see you crowned the next queen of this wonderful country."

Glinda took a brief moment to commemorate her parents. Truth be told though, the fatal accident had occurred many years ago and she had been so very young that she no longer grieved their death.

"Oh yes, regarding my coronation," she said as she resumed the conversation. "We have never really discussed an exact date. Will it be soon after my twentieth birthday?"

"Well, about that…"

The man cast a brief glance at Madame Morrible, who sat in her chair almost motionless.

"It seems like your governess has not yet informed you about this one minor detail…"

"What is it?" Glinda wanted to know, furrowing her neatly trimmed eyebrows in mild worry. She turned towards her guardian for reassurance.

"The issue is, to be crowned Queen of Oz, you have to be married first," the Wizard finally clarified.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Married!" she exclaimed.

"Yes. It is expected of the queen to take a spouse before she receives the crown – to share the burden of her reign, so to speak. That's what the people want and-"

"- one has to give the people what they want," the Princess finished the sentence with a dejected expression on her face.

The man on the other side of the table nodded approvingly.

"My dear, it would seem you have not thought much on the matter of marriage yet."

"I indeed have not. I have barely ever made the acquaintance of young men of my age."

She could not help but feel somewhat lost, realising how little she knew about her duties as queen. Madame Morrible had taught her well in the ways of young ladies, but she had not learnt a whole lot about what precisely would be expected of her once she took her rightful place on the throne. There was much to catch up on.

"So how am I to find a suitable husband then?" she asked wearily. "Perhaps we could organize a ball to festivate my birthday and invite the eligible bachelors of the country."

She could remotely remember that this was what usually happened in fairy tales.

Chuckling, the Wizard nodded towards one of the pages waiting on the small party. The man left the room and soon returned with a moderately sized, square object, concealed underneath a white cloth. He handed it over to the Princess, who looked slightly confused.

It was the portrait of a very handsome man. His eyes were sky-blue - a startling, but absolutely becoming contrast to his dark olive skin tone - and his short, somewhat curly hair was of a light, almost golden brown. The Princess could not deny that he looked much like the prince she had dreamed of when she had been a little girl, playing with her peers.

"This is Fiyero Tiggular," the Wizard explained. "He is the Prince of the Vinkus."

"A Winkie?"

Glinda pursed her lips in disdain as she once more studied the painting. He suddenly appeared a little less attractive.

Noticing her reservations, the regent offered her a kind smile.

"Do not worry, Princess. Rumours that the Vinkuns are nomadic savages are tremendously popular, but just as untrue. They have long become a modern and civilized people. As for the Prince… Well, he is the man every princess or lady in Oz would die to marry, it seems."

"Well, Your Wizardness," Glinda replied with a smirk, "I would like to remind you that I am not some princess, I am _the_ Princess of all of Oz."

Madame Morrible narrowed her eyes at her, trying to reprimand her for speaking in such a pert manner, while the Wizard smiled mildly.

"So, what do you think, Your Highness? Does Prince Fiyero appeal to you?" he probed.

If the young man really looked anything like the picture in her hands, he was the most attractive person she had ever seen in her life, though that did not mean much; her lifestyle to this point had been excessively sheltered and men had simply not been a part of it. So what did she know about how to chose a husband?

"I will give the matter some thought," she decided in the end and neither Madame Morrible's appalled expression, nor the Wizards friendly persuasion attempts could change her mind.

* * *

><p>Exactly one week later, Princess Glinda celebrated her twentieth birthday and her coming of age. Of course there was a ball, only the number of guests was not quite high enough to comprise even a fraction of all suitable bachelors in Oz. In fact, it did not go unnoticed by Glinda that most of the guests were middle-aged to elderly aristocrats, businessmen, members of the council and other influential personalities. The only gentlemen slightly closer to her age had brought their elegant wives. She highly suspected that the guest list had been composed with some sort of ulterior motive in mind.<p>

On their second day in their new home, Madame Morrible had set up Prince Fiyero's portrait above the dresser in the Princess' bedroom, from where it smiled down on her whenever she went to bed at night and also when she rose early in the morning. And one time, when the Princess had curiously snuck a peak at her small, private library, she also had discovered that at least half of the books on the shelves dealt with Vinkun culture, Vinkun geography, Vinkun history, or anything else Vinkun she could think of. It did not take much for her to realise that her governess and the regent Wizard had an obvious interest in a union between her and this man.

Glinda did still not quite understand why both of them were so fixated on this particular suitor, but after all those years, she trusted them almost completely. Morrible, she had learnt, was strict and a little stiff, but always had her best interests in mind. And the Wizard had, to the best of his ability, been looking after her country while she had been too young to do so herself. As a girl, she had told her playmates that she would only marry for love, but she was all grown up now and understood that things would not always be the way naïve, idealistic children would imagine them to be. If this match was indeed the best for her kingdom, she would readily defer to her councillors' wishes.

The ball dragged on and on. Glinda had always been fond of glamorous social events such as this and this dance being organised in celebration of her twentieth birthday should have absolutely delighted her, yet that night her spirit did simply not seem to lift. Dutifully and just as was expected of her, she danced every other number, but began to tire halfway through the evening. Was it subconscious memories of her previous life in this palace that weighed her down, or was she dreading the upcoming wedding to a young men she had never even met?

A short while later, it was announced that the adjoining dining room would be opened so that the ladies and gentlemen could have a little nosh and replenish their energy for the dances to come. An elderly gentleman extended his offer to take Glinda to the buffet, for which she was immensely grateful.

He introduced himself as Gillbred Imph, Duke of Mossleberg. This empty title no longer gave him any authority over this small region in the upper Gillikin, he explained, but he was close to the royal family of the Vinkus and through them found it easy to further his trade business and make a decent living.

While he was gone to fetch her some pasties and a drink, the Princess considered the information he had shared with her and a plan began to form in her head.

When the Duke returned with a tartlet, topped with sweet cream and a cup of jasmine tea, she accepted the treat with a gracious smile and took a small bite before putting her fork aside and studying the man for a brief moment. With his short, balding grey hair and those green eyes, framed by soft laughter lines, he reminded her a little of one of her distant uncles. She supposed this odd feeling of familiarity would help her opening up and sharing her thoughts with him.

"My dear Duke," she began, "there is a matter I would like to discuss with you, but the words I am going to say are for your ears only and must under no circumstances be retold to a third person."

He raised his eyebrows at this, but then nodded his agreement, quietly waiting for her to elucidate.

"Well, you see, I am to marry soon."

He nodded – that much was to be expected.

"It has been suggested, that I should wed Prince Fiyero Tiggular of the Vinkus."

This time a hint of surprise was reflected on the man's features.

"Pray tell, in your own honest words: what do you think about this?"

The Duke rose his eyebrows in slight disbelieve, as if he could not fathom why his opinion was of any consequence.

"Well, Your Highness," he began after allowing himself a brief moment to consider his answer, "you will find that the young Prince is a most pleasant person to be around. It is not only his good looks and his charm; his mannerism is excellent as well. You may or may not have heard that he is rumoured to have a more than healthy appetite for the ladies, but rest assured, these are nothing but malicious defamations, spread by those who resent him for his good fortune. He is nothing but attentive and courteous when in the company of ladies and all without any dishonourable intentions."

"Perhaps his interest lie else where," Glinda suggested, arching an eyebrow, but her guest shook his head vehemently, the loose skin of his chubby cheeks flapping like the flews of a bulldog.

"I promise you, they do not. When he was younger, I often had to comfort him when he was pining after one girl or the other. His abstinence is all purely due to self-restraint and proper breeding."

She nodded and smiled slightly.

"And do you think he would be a good king one day? Not just for the Vinkus, but all of Oz?"

"That is something I dare not attempt to predict, Your Highness," the man answered. "I am not an expert in king-making. He will be a fine husband - that much I feel comfortable vaticinating."

"Well, that shall be good enough for now. At the very least you have put my mind at ease, for you see, I already have devised a plan to find out the answers for these other questions myself. And this is where you come into play: I need you to organise a meeting with the Prince for me."

"Would such a matter not better be handled by Your Highness' advisors?" he asked, confused.

"No. Not the kind of meeting I have in mind."

"And what sort of meeting would that be?"

"A covert one," she replied, a spark of excitement glowing in her eyes. "I wish to meet him incognito, because I believe such a meeting would be most informative. Do you think you could do this for me?"

"S-sure, Your Highness-"

"Good. And if you could arrange for it to be of a more extended duration; a visit at their castle perhaps?"

Scratching his head, the poor man began racking his brain, trying to conceive a scenario that would allow the Princess to stay with the Royal Family of the Vinkus without using the privilege of her own title.

They did not remain in the dining room for longer than appropriate. After they had finished their sweets and drinks, the Duke of Mossleberg accompanied Glinda back to the ballroom and bid her, at least for the time being, farewell. She went on to dance with several different gentlemen, but they barely ever talked. Her mind was even more preoccupied now than it had been before and she could not refrain from envisioning herself on this undercover mission to observe her possible future husband in his natural habitat.

As the hour grew late and the first guests began to excuse themselves and disappear into the night, it occurred to the Princess that her deal with the Duke still hat to be confirmed formally. She wrote him a quick note and told one of the waiting servant boys to deliver the message.

They met in a small adjoining parlour, in the presence of Madame Morrible and the Wizard, who were wary of whatever reason Glinda had to summon them like this.

All four of them stood rather awkwardly in the middle of the room, until the Princess gestured for them to take a seat. She herself remained standing.

"Madame. My dear Wizard. As you know, I have so far been reluctant to embrace the idea of marrying Prince Fiyero Tiggular of the Vinkus. Although I value you as my most trusted confidants and advisors, I still feel uncomfortable entering into the bond of marriage with a young man who I personally know nothing about."

While she was currently fixating the regent Wizard, she also registered a deeply disapproving look on her governess' face.

"Before you say anything, Madame," she immediately began to placate her, "I am positive that my being so difficult has noting to do with the naïve and juvenile notion that a marriage needs to be based on true love. As a young girl I might have believed this, but I have long since outgrown this sort of immature sentiment. All I wish to do is meet the Prince in person, hiding behind a name and title that is not mine."

"Why in Oz would you do such a thing, child?" Madame Morrible asked exasperatedly.

Glinda would not have the woman belittle her and raised her chin in a haughty gesture.

"I want to see for myself whether I deem him suitable to live and reign beside me, sharing the responsibility for all of Oz's future. I have discussed the matter with the Duke of Mossleberg here-" she made an elegant hand gesture towards the man and offered him a grateful smile,"-who is a family friend of the Tiggulars' and he will be the one to organise my vacation with the Vinkun Royal Family."

"Vacation?" It seemed like dismay would not vanish from Morrible's face that evening.

"Yes," Glinda confirmed confidently. "I believe ten to fourteen days would do nicely."

The large woman huffed at that and shook her head, but did not feel like it would do her any good to argue. The Wizard, at least outwardly, seemed rather placid.

"So what would the pretext for your visit be?" he enquired curiously, although Glinda wondered whether he secretly hoped for a plan so ludicrous that he would be literally forced to discourage the scheme.

The Princess bit the insides of her cheeks, turning her attention towards her accomplice.

"I could introduce her as my niece - twice removed or so, to make the lie less obvious. Perhaps there was a fire in her family home and temporary accommodation would be needed? The Tiggular family are very generous and very welcoming. I am sure that they would be glad to entertain and distract a sweet girl after such an traumatic experience."

A satisfied smile spread over Glinda's face. She was glad that the man had obviously spent the evening thinking about this and his plan did not disappoint. Even Morrible and the Wizard only nodded their quiet approval and thus the deal was done.


	2. Chapter Two: Ga-linda with a 'Ga'

_**AN:**_

_Okay guys and gals, I'm breaking my "promise" and post this early lol_

_Reason is that it's really, really hard for me to keep writing without publishing (it's actually not the missing motivation this time, but simply worrying about writing rubbish haha). Today I'm feeling a bit down, so my resolve kinda went flying out the window... I won't promise another early update, so I hope that this one here is not too disappointing - you might have to live with this one for about a month..._

_Fine, so here we go!_

_Please enjoy (I hope) and happy reading!_

_xoxo MLE_

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: Ga-linda with a '<strong>**_Ga_****'**

Exactly two weeks after the ball, Glinda received a letter from the Duke. He let her know that the Tiggular family was happy to welcome her at their castle in Kiamo Ko and that he would personally come to pick her up on the twentieth of this month. Glinda asked her handmaiden for the date and counted the days.

"Thirteen more days?" she exclaimed miserably and hung her head.

In this very moment, the jingling of too much jewellery announced Madame Morrible's arrival and the fish-faced woman came sweeping into the room in a flurry of emerald brocade.

"What is it with this raucous?" she scolded, shaking her head. "A lady must not speak so loudly that others can hear her from the adjacent rooms."

"Please forgive my excitement, Madame. But is this not a matter of upmost importance to my life? I think you can hardly blame me for being a little nervous."

"Perhaps, dearie. But always remember that you are going to be queen soon. A queen does not act like a common country bumpkin. Besides, it is time for lunch. A lady must not be late."

Glinda suppressed a sigh and quickly put the letter aside so her maid could help her dress and make up.

"I will be there in five minutes, Madame."

Her governess nodded curtly and decided to wait for her charge in the drawing room.

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><p>The next two weeks seemed to crawl along at snail pace. Still waking up every morning to the Prince's portrait's charming smile, she could not help but falling somewhat in love with the idea of marrying such a handsome young man. If he was nearly as good in the inside as on the outside, she would take him in a heartbeat.<p>

Eventually, the eagerly anticipated day did come and the Duke of Mossleberg's carriage arrived in the courtyard of the Emerald Palace. The Princess came nearly skipping down the stairs in a cream coloured travel dress and a light brown cape draped around her shoulders. Her new look was tidy and elegant, only the colours were less vibrant and the fabrics not as sumptuous.

"My dear uncle," she greeted him, already fully in character.

"My precious niece," he replied, a little awkwardly, "it is so good to see you again."

She laughed at his attempt and lightly tapped his shoulder with her fan.

"I'm glad this trip will take a few days, uncle. I fear you still have to practice some more."

Offering her a sheepish smile, he began fiddling with his hat. Madame Morrible walked over to them, her spine as stiff as a poker.

"I still feel uncomfortable letting you go all by yourself, child. I just wish you would reconsider your decision to leave me behind."

"Please do not worry, Madame. I promise that I will be safe and behave. Besides, for the duration of the trip the good Duke will be my chaperone and at Kiamo Ko there should be plenty of servants available to attend to my needs."

She stepped closer and fondly took her governess' cold, fat hands in her smaller, slender ones.

"I certainly do not wish to offend you Madame, but were you to come along, you would only spoil my plans. You are too conspicuous and quite frankly, too meddlesome at times – in the most caring and devoted way, of course."

The Princess' sweet smile and words did little to appease Morrible.

"Please do not look so cross. I will say my farewell now and then I will board that carriage and be off. You are not to follow me; if the simple request of the girl you raised is not enough, I will have to command you as your Princess."

Huffing, the large woman accepted Glinda's heartfelt adieu and watched as the Duke helped the young woman into the carriage. Before he assumed his seat opposite the Princess, he assured the Madame that he would take good care of her charge and tipped his hat.

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><p>The journey to the Vinkus took them seven and a half days. The nights they spent at the best hotels and inns on their route. Admittedly even <em>'the best'<em> was not always all too luxurious to begin with, but for Glinda, who was incredibly spoiled, yet surprisingly dauntless (for a princess), this only heightened her excitement over this little adventure. Gradually, the Duke lost his inhibitions and began to grow more comfortable in his new role as the young lady's uncle.

It was late afternoon when they finally arrived at the stronghold of Kiamo Ko. During their last rest in a small town near the castle, the Duke had arranged for a messenger to herald their arrival and so they were greeted by the Queen and a small reception committee.

"Oh, Gillbred," Queen Baxiana, a tall and lean brunette with an undeniable air of authority, said cheerfully, her hand ready to be kissed. "It has been far too long since we last saw you. Please do not be disappointed, but Marillot is not here. He is visiting a neighbouring territory to talk trade and alliance with some unruly would-be rebel king."

"Well, that is a shame, but I never intended to stay all that long anyway. I do not wish to be rude, but I merely came to drop off my niece."

"But you will stay for the night, I hope?"

The Duke bowed deep and smiled.

"If that is My Queen's wish."

"Yes, it certainly is," the tall woman replied. She clapped her hands and two footmen rushed to her side. "Now please show our guests to their rooms and see to it that their luggage is brought up." Turning towards her friend and casting a brief glance towards Glinda, she added, "We are entertaining company tonight. Please let the girl know to dress appropriately."

With that, the Queen headed back inside the castle, followed by the remaining servants.

Being so thoroughly ignored was new to the Princess and it made her feel strangely unwelcome.

"Come, sweet child," the Duke said, offering her his arm. "You do not need to worry; the Queen is a gentle and openhearted woman. She will properly welcome you at dinner."

Glinda nodded slightly and let the footmen show her to her chambers.

* * *

><p>The Duke picked her up around dinnertime and escorted her to the parlour. Queen Baxiana noticed them as soon as they entered the room and greeted them warmly.<p>

"Oh, good that you are here - and just on time. Everyone else is already present."

She took Glinda's arm and led her to the middle of the room. Although she had enjoyed extensive training in the art of socialising during her childhood years and beyond, the blonde could not deny that she was feeling somewhat nervous. Perhaps it was because this was the first party she had ever attended that was taking place in an unfamiliar setting, perhaps it was the overwhelming presence of men, which she still had to get accustomed to. She briefly scanned the perimeter and discreetly nodded to herself, one hand lightly squeezing the other. A refined young lady like her takes any situation she finds herself confronted with in her stride and so that was exactly what she would do.

"Dear friends, would you please be so kind and spare me some of your attention for a moment?"

Everyone's eyes were immediately directed towards the Queen and the princess in disguise. She had not expected to meet so many guests during her stay at the castle and was eternally grateful for the fact that barely anyone who did not live in the capital had ever seen her in person.

"This is Lady Galinda of the Upper Uplands."

Galinda curtsied, not entirely sure how low she was expected to bow her head, for throughout her still rather short life, she had always been at the receiving end of such high courtesy.

"She is a niece of our friend's, the Duke of Mossleberg and will be part of our family until she decides that it is time to return to her own."

The guests inclined their heads in recognition of the newcomer and the Queen gently ushered her toward a young woman, just about her age. She was taller than Galinda, but not by much and her hair was a very dark brown, almost black.

"May I introduce to you the Lady Sarima, my niece?"

"I'm pleased to meet you," the girl said in common Ozian, but with a notable Vinkun accent.

"It's entirely my pleasure," the shorter blonde answered and nearly forgot to curtsy. "My Lady."

"I am sure you girls will get along very well, so if you would please excuse me?"

With that the Queen took her leave and for a moment there was an uncomfortable silence between the two young women.

"So, what brings you to the Vinkus, Miss… um… _Galinda, _was it?"

Galinda was a little taken aback not to be addressed by her proper title, wondering whether it had been an accidental mistake or a deliberate denial of courtesy.

"Well, there was a fire that destroyed our family home and my parents thought that I should spend a few weeks away from Gillikin in order to find some distraction from this tragedy. So please forgive me if I won't be going into details here."

"That's absolutely dreadful, you poor, poor thing," the lady replied, but her voice did not convey much empathy. "Tell me, are you already betrothed to someone, Miss Galinda? A Gillikinese lord, mayhaps, or a gentleman from the city?"

The Princess blinked a couple of times.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, do they not do that in Gillikin?"

Sarima seemed affectedly amused.

"You must know, I for my part am promised to Prince Fiyero."

"Oh, I see."

So this was the way the wind was blowing - Galinda had barely arrived, and already this Sarima seemed concerned that she could be after her husband to be. Speaking of which-

"Where is he anyway? The Prince, I mean," Galinda enquired.

Though maybe she shouldn't have asked, for Sarima seemed only all too pleased to demonstrate her intimae knowledge of the Prince's habits.

"Most like he is going to join us for dinner, or the gaiety that follows afterward," she informed Galinda. "He's not particularly fond of this idle chatter."

Galinda sighed inwardly. The way things were going, neither was she.

Another period of quiet followed and the Princess passed the time playing with her ivory fan and studying the people around her. She watched the Duke chatting with a woman she had not yet been introduced to and once their eyes met, he quickly wrapped up his conversation to come to her rescue. Politely, he apologised to Sarima for briefly borrowing her conversational partner, at which the Vinkun lady only waved dismissively.

"I would have thought that the Prince already being as good as married would be something worth mentioning beforehand," Galinda muttered under her breath once they were out of Sarima's earshot.

"Oh, did Lady Sarima say something? Well, do not worry too much about that, she is just being a little territorial. Believe me, this arrangement is definitely not as firm as she might have made it sound."

Galinda cocked her head.

"How so?"

Very gently, the Duke took her by her arm to guide her in a slightly more secluded corner of the room.

"The situation is this," he spoke quietly, eyes once more darting left and right to ensure privacy. "From a purely practical perspective, Lady Sarima is the safest choice for a strong Tiggular dynasty. The Prince, however, is a romantic at heart and dreams of marrying a girl he actually loves. So the King and the Queen proposed that he should try and find a wife on his own, but should this endeavour remain unsuccessful, he is to take his cousin as his wife."

"That sounds like a fair arrangement," Galinda nodded, wishing she had been granted the same privilege. "The King and the Queen must love their son very much."

Chuckling, the Duke took her hand and patted it lightly.

"It would seem so, my dear. But at any rate, the betrothal with Lady Sarima is not a matter you should be overly concerned about. Either you charm him and wrap him around your little finger, or you play the princess card. Whichever way this goes, you have already won."

"I suppose so."

The Princess's face assumed a distant, contemplative look, until a little silver bell rang and the Queen asked everyone to the dining room.

Galinda was not seated next to Sarima – thank Lurline! Instead, she was introduced to the Queen's brother and his wife - the Archduke and Archduchess of Upper Fanarra, and furthermore, the old Margreave of Tenmeadows. Sarima was sitting at the far end of the table, next to a vacant chair.

The first course was served rather quickly to appease the rumbling bellies of those guests who had arrived late and not attended the small tea party in the afternoon. Galinda herself had not had any food since breakfast, but was fairly certain that her slight unease, combined with the upset about her encounter with Sarima would cause her indigestion if she were to eat too much.

However, all those dismal thoughts were wiped from her mind, when a servant lifted the lid of the large tureen in the centre of the table and the mouth-watering smell of the consommé reached her nostrils. The soup tasted just as delicious as it smelt and Galinda, much hungrier than she herself had anticipated, even had to remind herself to make polite conversation as she emptied her plate.

For the next course, the soup bowl was removed to make space for a beautiful floral centerpiece. Since the servants needed some time to arrange the numerous appetizers and sides on the table, the old Margreave now turned toward Galinda, hoping to deepen their conversation.

"So your name is Galinda, isn't it?"

The blonde slightly dipped her head in response, wondering what he meant to say.

"That's a good, old Gillikinese name," the man noted approvingly. "I'm from Gillikin myself."

"I am aware. The Margreaves of Tenmeadows have always been difficult to overlook."

Given that the Tenmeadows' name stood for splendour, indulgence, occasional ruthlessness, as well as great generosity, her comment could have been interpreted in various ways, but thankfully, the Margreave chose to laugh.

"You are quite a smart and outspoken young lady," the Queen's brother chimed in then. "Well, maybe that is to be expected from a child named after the late Ozma's daughter herself."

Galinda could feel her heart skip a beat and her smile faltered briefly, but soon she regained her footing.

"Oh no, Your Excellency, you see; that's _Glinda_. My name is _Ga-linda_, with a '_ga'_. And the Princess is also a year or two younger than I am, so the similarities are purely coincidental," she added in an afterthought.

"Is that so?"

For whatever reason, her table neighbours seemed genuinely interested in this conversation.

"It's strange though," the Margreave said thoughtfully, "I know the Uplands quite well, but I'm sure I have never heard of you. One ought to think that such beauty and wit should not go unmentioned at dinner parties and social gatherings."

For this sort of comment Galinda was prepared.

"Well, thank you. But I'm hardly surprised. I'm from the Upper Uplands, you must know, a lesser branch of the family, not as influential and hence generally disregarded."

"Oh, that's a shame. But I'm sure all of Oz will know your name once you found a fine man of suitable rank and title."

Had she been the girl she pretended to be, the Margreave's remark would have been immensely fluttering, so she tried her best to make her cheeks blush appropriately. Her attempts were moderately successful and the Margreave seemed all the more smitten with her in response and leaned but a little closer.

"If your parents have not yet found a good man for you, would it be too bold of me to recommend my grandson? He surely is a good-looking lad and not poor either."

This time, her cheeks flushed of their own accord and much darker than she had hoped.

Thankfully, none of the guests around her had a chance to notice, for in this very moment, the door to the dining room opened and two young men entered.

"Oh, there he is," the Margreave chuckled, motioning for his grandson to sit beside him.

Galinda spared the fair-haired man a brief glance, but then her eyes immediately darted towards the face she recognised from the portrait in her bedroom. Yes, he was definitely just as handsome in person, maybe even more so. Perhaps it was the light, but his eyes seemed even bluer and his skin even more bronze.

The entire party - safe for the Queen- rose to their feet and, although a little late and somewhat befuddled, Galinda copied them. The young Margreave to be dutifully followed his grandfather's orders and took the chair next to him, while Fiyero sat down between his mother and Sarima.

"My son should consider himself lucky to be of such high birth," the Queen said, raising her glass to take a sip. "No other but the Crown Prince himself would be greeted with so much respect after displaying such bad manners."

Amused chuckling briefly filled the room and the Prince cleared his throat to make some sort of apology.

"Please forgive us, dear friends. We were held up."

"Sure you were," the old Margrave whispered sharply, looking at his grandson, bushy brows raised.

The interruption was soon forgiven and forgotten, for the next course was finally complete and everyone helped themselves to their favourite dishes of stewed hare, fricassee of chicken, game hash or whatever met their fancy. Galinda, on the other hand, had truly lost her appetite now – not for the reasons she had considered earlier, but because she was simply too entranced just looking at the utterly perfect man on the other side of the table, who was soon to be her husband.

She remained sitting like this until the last course had been cleared form the table and fingerbowls with lemon wedges were placed in front of each guest so they may clean any food off their hands. It was then, that she realised with horror how unresponsive and rude she must have been over the past hour or so. Pledging to her self to mend her attitude, she tore her eyes away from the Prince as everyone filed out of the room to take their tea in the drawing room.

Feeling she had been sitting long enough already, Galinda remained in the back of the room, where a couple of guests were quietly talking among themselves. The others at the tables watched intently as the first performer of the evening took the small stage in the front. A professional pianist began to play and a stout woman, who Glinda identified as the lady the Duke had been talking to earlier, proved a well-trained singer of opera-style arias. After three numbers, she took her final bow and surrendered the stage to other volunteers.

Galinda soon lost interest and decided to join a discussion about classical Gillikinese poetry – not because she was a lover of literature, but because she happened to be exceptionally well educated in this particular subject. Having been taught by the most notable professors in their field, she was able to give insights that found much approval and the Princess began to feel a little more at ease.

As the conversation began to drift off to waters unknown to the blonde, she excused herself under the pretext of craving some refreshments. She located a table that was nowhere near Sarima's and sat down, waiting for a servant to pour the tea for her. She studied the three-tiered tea tray, trying to decide which of the treats might be the most delicious. Before she could make a choice, however, unusually loud clapping and cheering steered her attention towards the stage.

The Prince himself had taken over the piano and Lady Sarima stood next to him, offering him a bright smile before turning to face their audience. Sarima's singing was rather good, Galinda had to admit. Perhaps better than just good, she corrected herself and chewed the insides of her cheeks in mild annoyance – a terrible habit even her strict governess had never been able to rid her of.

To keep her irritation at a minimum, she tried to focus on the Prince's play instead. He obviously was no virtuoso, but did well enough and there was something mesmerising about the sight of his hands gliding across the keys. Only belated, Galinda realised that it was the small, blue diamond tattoos that had caught her eye in the first place and now that she was fully aware of them, she could not stop herself from staring. Even after the pair had finished their second number and he walked off the stage, her gaze kept following him, firmly trained on his tattooed hands.

She had not paid much attention to her surroundings, but when the words 'Lady Galinda' and 'piano' reached her ears, she looked up with a start, realising that several quests were watching her expectantly. The heat rose to her head as she licked her pink, glossy lips. She must have been foolish enough to tell someone about her piano lessons without mentioning the fact that she hadn't had the chance the to play the past few years.

"Don't be shy, Lady Galinda," the old Margreave tried to coax her, "I'm sure those dainty fingers of yours would enjoy a little dance across the keyboard."

There was no question that the Margreave had already had his fair share of wine at this point, but that did not mean that she could easily refuse his request without being incredibly rude.

Rolling back her shoulders, she slowly stood.

Before she even took her first step toward the stage, however, the Queen rose from her chair to make an announcement.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, but I believe it is about time for us to commence with the drama reading section of the evening."

The Princess released a small breath and relaxed a little, until the Queen spoke again.

"Lady Galinda, since you won't be able to delight us with your musical skills tonight, how about you read the role of Princess Tiliana for us?"

"Of course, your Majesty," Galinda replied with a bright smile, but inwardly she was absolutely mortified. She had never been good at reading and as the Crown Princess never been forced to perform in front of an audience.

Together with the other participants, she briefly disappeared in a small adjoining room to equip herself with some improvised costume elements and props. A simple crown on her head and a wooden sword in her hand, she re-emerged and took up position on the stage.

_'__The Rose and the Pearl'_ was a drama based on a classic Gillikin ballad. It told the story of courtly love, a terrible curse and finally the sacrificial death of the heroine. Galinda fought her way through every line she had to read and more than just once found herself horribly embarrassed when she mistook one word for another. The audience seemed to enjoy themselves greatly – at least partially at her expanse, she assumed. Her only joy was the moment she could at last drive that ozdamned sword through her heart and die. As far as she was concerned, her interpretation of Tiliana's death scene was her only at least partially decent theatrical accomplishment that evening.

With the end of the play, the dinner party came to a close as well and Galinda could not have been any more relieved. The Duke accompanied her back to her room, but the two of them exchanged barely a word.

"Good night," she said quietly as they reached the door and he nodded, offering her an encouraging smile.

"Fresh dreams, my child."

A maid helped her out of her many layers of dress and combed her hair, then she was all alone in the big, foreign room. She flopped herself face forward onto the fluffy bed and released a muffled wail.

With much effort, she rolled over, staring up to the canopy of the bed. The face of the handsome Prince appeared before her mind's eye, but instead of smiling serenely like she used to whenever she thought of him, she only blushed furiously in shame. Maybe she should have been disappointed that he had never even tried to talk to her that evening, yet given the circumstances, she was rather glad at that point. She reminded herself that he would be hers, no matter what would happen, if she only said the word. At the same time, she began to doubt and even regret her decision to come to Kiamo Ko like this. Perhaps, she should have simply sent a letter and ordered him to the Emerald Palace to get to know him, just as Madame Morrible had suggested. It was too late for this now, however, so she would put on a brave face and continue to play this stupid little game, for the better or the worse.

* * *

><p>The following day, on her way to the breakfast room, she walked into Lady Sarima.<p>

"Good morning, Miss Galinda," the dark-haired woman greeted her with a cheerful smile and the Princess irately began to chew the insides of her cheeks again.

"Good morning to you, too, Lady Sarima," she managed to say as she bobbed her head but a little.

When the two women arrived at the table, the servants tended to their every need, but despite the delicious dishes they were being served, Galinda grew more and more sullen by the minute. And so it came that after only one pancake with banana slices and chocolate drizzle, she left without even excusing herself.

Back in her room, she rang for the maid to help her dress. Barely finished with the corset, the maid was interrupted in her work by a loud knock on the door. She left Galinda and soon returned with a calling card.

"The Prince is asking you to join him for a morning ride, My Lady," she said, handing her the piece of paper.

Galinda's eyes widened. To say that this invitation came as a surprise would certainly have been an understatement.

"My habit skirt is in the emerald green garment bag," she instructed the maid in an even voice, trying her best to suppress the nervous smile that was about to force its way onto her slightly flushed face.


	3. Chapter Three: Secrets Revealed

_**AN:**_

_Well, dear children... have you been good? Let's hope so, for I have an update for you! _

_The truth is: I'm terrible at this! I wanted to wait for at least another 3 or 4 days... yeah, well... I'll so run out of chapters once I'm back at uni xD_

_Anyway... please enjoy!_

_Happy reading!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three: Secrets Revealed <strong>

Galinda arrived at the stables in the finest riding-dress a young lady of lesser nobility would dare to wear. The jacket and skirt were of a soft, creamy colour while the collar and the turned cuffs in mint green were a subtle hint at her secret Emerald City heritage. The cuffs sported golden buttons, while the front of the jacket was held together with laces. Her leather gloves and low-heeled boots were light brown and her emerald-green-feathered triangular hat was of the same colour as her coat. Had Fiyero invited her to a hunt, one could say she was dressed to kill.

A stable hand approached her timidly.

"You are My Lady Galinda, I s-suppose?" the boy of no more than thirteen asked, wringing his cap in his hands as he awaited her answer.

More or less ignoring the poor boy, Galinda let her eyes wander along the aisles of boxes and storage rooms.

"That is correct," she finally replied rather absentminded. "His Highness asked me to meet him here. Do you happen to know where I can find him?"

"T-the Prince will be with you s-shortly. Until then, p-please allow me to find a suitable mount for you. May I – May I ask: are you a beginner or a proficient horsewoman?"

"I consider myself a pleasure rider," she replied carefully, playing it save, despite the fact that she was quite confident in her skills.

"Very good, My Lady," the boy nodded. "Um… may I suggest that you wait outside until I have t-tacked up y-your horse, My Lady? There's a, a small bench f-for you to sit down."

"Thank you."

She left the stable and waited as instructed, but she did not sit down, worrying that animal dirt could soil her pristine garments. After all, since Fiyero had barely paid her any attention at the dinner party, this was almost like a second chance at an unflawed first impression.

Having waited no longer than five minutes, she was impressed when she spotted the stable boy leading a saddled horse her way. Since she had inherited some of her late father's interest in horse breeding, she thought that the chestnut mare was a rather average representative of her Vinkun breed, although her eyes were unusually expressive and intelligent. While the boy scurried to find her a mounting block, Galinda began to familiarise herself with the animal, gingerly patting her nose.

"Her name is Dhelpa," she heard the boy gasp.

Curiously, she turned her head to find him struggling with the heavy wooden construction riders used to climb into the saddle.

"I could simply come over there and mount her right were the block is standing," she suggested, wondering why the lad had to make things so difficult for himself.

"U-um… sure… If you d-don't mind, My Lady."

She raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow and slightly shook her head before taking the horse's reins and turning her around.

Once she was sitting securely in the saddle, the boy led the mare to a small paddock where Galinda had just enough space to try out her mount. After taking it easy for a few rounds, she urged the horse to go faster and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the mare was gaited, which would make the ride a much more enjoyable experience. Confident that she could trust her, she soon made the mare change to a relaxed canter and took a few small jumps.

"Very nice," she heard a smooth male voice say and quickly reined in her horse. "Now I'm really looking forward to this ride."

She had been so busy concentrating on her riding that she had not even noticed the Prince's arrival. He was already sitting on a lean, yet muscular Vinkun stallion. The animal's coat had a metallic sheen to it and reflected the sun as though it were of pure gold. The Prince himself looked much less kingly than his steed, only dressed in a casual white shirt and cream breeches that almost matched the colour of her riding habit. But despite – or perhaps because of - the lack of formal riding garments, Galinda had to admit that Fiyero looked dashingly handsome.

She also noted the diamond tattoos, which did not only show on his hands, but also on a small area of his chest that was left exposed as the two top buttons of his shirt had not been done up. She felt her ears turn hot and quickly averted her gaze to avoid embarrassment. To herself, she wondered where else these mesmerising tattoos would be adorning is body, however, as she felt the blush creeping into her cheeks, she briskly chased these sort of improper thoughts away.

They left the stables and the castle grounds wide behind them, engaging in light chatter and getting to know each other along the way. It was obvious that the Prince was testing her abilities, leading her along well-trodden paths at first, then cross-country as he pleased. Once she had proven that she could keep up with him even when the terrain was steep or rocky, he asked for her permission to go a tad faster and she happily agreed.

Her training had prepared her well, but of course, she had never been on a hack like this and if Morrible were to find out about her little adventure, she would never hear the end of it. For now, however, she simply enjoyed the wind blowing in her face and the feeling of the horse under her flying across fields, fences and rivers alike.

On their way back, Fiyero proposed a race.

"From here to the small group of trees over there; what do you say?"

"Am I allowed to win, Your Highness?"

Galinda dared to grin a little perkily and the Prince laughed loudly.

"You are welcome to try, My Lady, but I'll let you know that I'm sitting on the speedier mount."

"Well, that's not fair then, is it?" she laughed in return. "But I'll still try, just for a lark."

He nodded briefly and off he galloped, cheering his stallion on with loud hollers and light slaps with the ends of his reins. Doing her best to encourage her horse in a more quiet and lady-like fashion, Galinda made to follow.

In the end, she finished the race merely half a horse's length behind the Prince, leaving him deeply impressed.

"That was fun," Fiyero said as they approached the stables, letting the horses walk on loose reigns.

The Princess blushed lightly and smiled.

"I quite enjoyed this as well, so thank you, Your Highness"

"No, I have to thank you for your company, My Lady. Sarima doesn't ride and lonely hacks really do lose their appeal after a while."

"Then I'm glad I could be of service," Galinda replied, inclining her head.

"And I'm glad you ride better than you read."

In the blink of an eye, the joy had left her and abashed, she turned to face away form the Prince. It was ridiculous, really, but she had somehow hoped that he hadn't noticed.

Fiyero realised his mistake and reached out to lightly touch her gloved hand, sending jolts of heath through the young woman's body.

"I apologise; that was rude of me."

Retracting her hand, she slowly shook her head, still flustered, yet doing her best to appear calm.

"No, it's only true, Your Highness. Had my dear parents seen me struggling like that on stage, they would have died of shame."

"Well, it wasn't exactly a flawless performance, but I found it refreshingly sincere and somewhat endearing," Fiyero tried to comfort her.

"You are just saying this to make me feel better."

"Well, does it work?"

At that the Princess' head lifted up and to his side again, moist eyes blinking in astonishment. He regarded her with gentle, blue eyes and a nice smile.

"Very endearing indeed."

* * *

><p>They left it to the stable hands to tend to the horses and much to his regret (or so he said and Galinda was inclined to believe it) Fiyero had to return to his princely duties.<p>

Light-footed and almost dancing for joy, the Princess made her way back to the castle, headed for her room so she could wash off the horse smell and change into a fresh, clean dress.

As she opened the door to her apartment, she was surprised to find the Duke sitting on one of the stuffed chairs, looking rather glum.

"Uncle… Why the sour face?" she asked almost nonchalantly, yet still not able to keep a slight waver out of her voice.

The man in the chair took a deep breath as though to rid himself of his anger, replacing it with weary relief.

"Come here child," he said tiredly, beckoning her closer.

Galinda sat on the chair beside him and he reached for her hand.

"How can you leave your uncle so worried? You simply disappeared and then I had to learn that you were gone; out for a ride in the middle of the Vinkun wilderness."

"And it was wonderful, uncle!" the young woman gushed. "The Prince took me to so many beautiful places and it felt so liberating to ride across the untouched country instead of pristine arenas and paddocks."

"I understand your excitement, but the danger-"

"You needn't have worried uncle. You should know that I'm rather saddle fast."

She pulled him to his feet and quickly gave him a peck on is cheek, making the old man's ears turn slightly red.

"And now please excuse me, dear uncle, I need to freshen up. I stink like horse and sweat whereas I should smell of powder and roses. I trust I will meet you at dinner?"

He nodded once, then he left her to her own devices.

* * *

><p>The hours until dinner seemed much longer than usual and Galinda found it increasingly difficult to keep herself occupied. She picked up a book and began to read some passages out loud for practice, but frustrated, she soon snapped the thing shut and returned it to its shelf.<p>

She was half hanging over one of her chairs and fairly close to falling asleep when her ears registered the eagerly awaited knocking on her door. She was up and at the door in no time, greeting the Duke with her widest smile and allowing him to accompany her to the dining room.

In contrast to the party on the day before, this dinner was a quiet affair and only the Queen, Fiyero, Sarima and her parents, the Duke and Galinda herself were present. They barely exchanged any words while seated at the table, but the blonde could tell that Fiyero was watching her almost the entire time.

After they had finished their meal, the Queen asked her guests to join her and her son in the fireplace room. The Duke excused himself, saying that he intended to retire early since he had to leave for Gillikin the following morning, but Galinda accepted after receiving an encouraging wink from Fiyero.

Although it was summer and even the evenings were still mild, the fire in the fireplace room was welcome, as it created a cosy and homely atmosphere with its soft crackling noises and golden light.

They sat for a few moments, sipping their tea and nibbling on a selection of exotic treats and fruits before Queen Baxiana smiling turned towards Galinda.

"If I remember right, I still owe you a chance to demonstrate your piano skills."

Galinda almost choked on her tea.

"Oh, Your Majesty, you owe me nothing at all. In fact, I am the one who owes you for your generous hospitality."

"Splendid. In that case, you may start paying off your debt with a little performance."

The Princess cringed slightly. That had backfired just beautifully.

She took another, almost unnoticeable breath and forced a smile.

"But of course."

She spotted a piano in a dark corner and was just about to cross the room, when two servants walked up to the large instrument, unlocked the breaks and pushed it into the middle of the room and the centre of everyone's attention. Nervously, Galinda briefly chewed the insides of her cheeks.

Smoothing out her skirts, she sat down on the plush chair and let one of the servants help with the adjustment of the correct height for her short legs.

Once she was seated as comfortably as she could possibly get in such an uncomfortable situation, she stretched and flexed her fingers and gently let them rest on the shiny ivory keys. In her mind she went through the first few bars of the piece she was about to play. It had been at least five years, but it seemed as though she could still remember most of it and she devoutly hoped that the rest would come flowing back as soon as she lost herself in the music.

As she began to play, she was too concentrated on her task to even hear the melodies she was weaving with her nimble fingers. All she knew was that it felt right, so she unwaveringly continued to play until the number was finished.

Her audience's appreciative applause broke the trance she had been in and she smiled shyly, glad that she had apparently not made a fool of herself again. Upon their request, she played another piece, an extract from a concerto, for which she also received much praise.

"You are certainly gifted," the Queen said, offering the younger woman a warm smile and Galinda thanked her demurely.

"She's also an extremely talented and versatile equestrian," Fiyero informed his mother.

Just then, Galinda happened to catch a glimpse of Lady Sarima, who irately rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"My dear son," Queen Baxiana reprimanded the Prince mildly, "the Lady Galinda is our guest, entrusted to our care by her parents and her uncle. She came here for a change of scene, not to break her pretty, little neck."

"No need to worry, mother, we were careful."

"Of course you were, but I know what _you_ consider careful-"

"Galinda, my dear," the Queen's brother interrupted then, "why don't you play us one more piece? Perhaps something light and joyful?"

The blonde nodded dutifully, although she could already feel weariness settling in her head and fingers. She began to play and when the Archduke recognised the tune, he turned towards his daughter.

"Sarima, be a good girl and sing along. You know how much I love this song."

The dark-haired girl stiffened and cast her father a bewildered look. A clock-tick later, she rose to her feet and wordlessly left the room.

Slightly confused, or perhaps rather offended, Galinda watched the scene as she played. She finished the song, then the Queen proposed that it was time for everyone to retire to their rooms.

* * *

><p>The following morning, Galinda got out of bed early and quickly dressed herself in a simple, but lovely summer outfit. After briefly brushing her lush curls and fixing them in a loose braid, she hurried downstairs, headed for the courtyard.<p>

The Duke's carriage was already as good as ready to leave and two footmen dealt with the last few items of luggage.

"Oh, there you are, my child," the old man greeted her cheerfully. "I already feared I would not get a chance to bid my farewell to you."

"Do you really think I would forget about my dear uncle?" Galinda chortled.

"Of course not. But I was worried that last night's entertainment might have left you too exhausted."

The Princess' mouth twitched a little until her smile was once again firm in its place.

"We did not stay up all that long," she assured the Duke and quickly pressed her lips against his cheek. "Have a safe and pleasant journey and give my love to mama and papa."

He nodded and gently placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Stay safe and be a good girl. I don't wish to have to come back and pick you up because the Queen grew tired of you."

His words were stern, but the wink he added in the end told Galinda that it was all in good fun. She giggled in response and watched him clumsily climb into the carriage. When the driver clucked his reins and the horses set into motion, she took out a silken handkerchief and waved her good-bye until the Duke was well out of sight.

Just in that moment that she was about to turn on her heels and go back to her room, a nearby clock struck seven. It was rather early, yet not too early for breakfast and since Galina was already up anyway, she changed her plans on the spot and took the other stairs instead, which would lead her to the east wing where the breakfast room was located.

When she arrived, it was with some surprise that she found Lady Sarima sitting at the table. Once again, she and that unpleasant Vinkun girl were the only people in the room besides the staff.

Barely had Galinda taken her seat at the opposite end of the table, Sarima already rose to her feet, declaring that she had finished her meal. The Princess thought it exceptionally rude, although secretly, she was rather relieved. The silence would be much easier to bear if there was no one to talk to to begin with. On her way out, however, the Vinkun Lady turned and addressed Galinda.

"I think the two of us had a bit of a rocky start," she began and offered the blonde a faint smile. "And I am willing to make amends. This afternoon I will host a tea party. You are invited to come if you like."

Galinda could only stare at her in disbelief.

"Half past three in the rose garden," the brunette said and then left.

Still perplexed, Galinda only snapped out of her bemusement when a serving boy inquired whether she would prefer her tea with or without sugar and milk.

She did not have a good feeling about that tea party and her stomach was in knots. But if Sarima was genuinely trying to make it up to her, she would not be the one to deny her this opportunity. If her fears were to come true, on the other hand, she decided that she would bear the teasing and the taunting with dignity, showing Sarima and her guests how a real lady handles such tricky situations.

* * *

><p>Arriving exactly on the minute, Galinda found that Lady Sarima's other guests were already present. The Vinkun greeted one after the other with a kiss on the forehead and they bowed their heads in return. The blonde approached the party warily, wondering when exactly Sarima would deal her first jab.<p>

No sooner had she noticed her, Sarima rushed towards Galinda with the brightest smile on her face.

"Oh, Lady Galinda, you have come! I'm so glad."

She kissed her forehead, just like she had done with all the other young women and Galinda, slightly befuddled, bowed her head slightly. Then the dark-haired lady took her by her arm and led her to the round table.

"I must apologise in advance, for most of my friends do not speak common Ozian. Since I assume that you don't know much Vinkun either, I propose that you come and sit with me and my sister."

"Tung hadad," the Princes mumbled a polite greeting in very bad Vinkun before she sat down and, snickering slightly, the other party guests welcomed her to their circle.

"This is the Lady Darina, daughter to a notable Yunamata chieftain," Sarima introduced the particularly dark-skinned woman seated next to the blonde. "Although I'm of the Arjiki tribe and we are not truly related by blood, we grew up together and love each other dearly. Just like sisters."

"Well met, Lady Galinda," Darina said in flawless Ozian.

"Well met indeed, Lady Darina of the Yunamata," the Princess replied, beginning to feel slightly more at ease.

And so the tea party commenced and proceeded without any incidents. After the ladies had cleared all of the delicious treats off the tiered trays, conversations became livelier and the guests took the liberty to exchange seats and mingle. Galinda, restricted by her language abilities, remained in her original chair and so did Darina, politely keeping her company. Sarima spent some time with her other acquaintances, but always made sure to return to Galinda every now and then.

At one point, Darina, who seemed to have hardly any regard for personal space, edged just an inch closer and began to inspect the Princess' perfect curls up close.

"Sarima was right. Your hair really does look like spun gold," she said with awe and reached out to touch Galinda's head.

"Why, thank you," the blonde replied, uncomfortably shifting away a little and carefully flipping her hair to the other side and out of the Vinkun's reach.

But the young woman was not so easily deterred.

"Oh can I touch it, please? I just want to see if it feels as soft as it looks. Please? Please?"

Galinda's eyes widened and she began to chew her lower lip – there was a reason why she didn't like it when people messed with her hair.

"I-I'd rather you don't," she said meekly, but already Darina sat half on her lap, gingerly tucking a fair strand behind her right ear.

Flushing furiously, Galinda turned away, still mangling her lower lip between her teeth.

She heard the other woman draw a sharp breath and didn't dare to look up at Darina's surely shocked or maybe even disgusted face. Sarima must have noticed something and turned, for suddenly her shrill voice cut through the tense silence, making Galinda wince.

"Oh, by Kumbrica, what in Oz is that!"

Her head as red as a beetroot, the Princess faced the other ladies, covering her ear with both of her dainty hands.

"It was an a-accident," she cried, thoroughly embarrassed.

All those years, she had always been so careful to hide her minor disfigurement behind perfectly coiffed curls or extravagant, wide hats. The last time that someone had caught an unintended glimpse at it had been during a game of tag when she had been just about the age of six and that had been the last time that she had participated in that silly game.

"An _'accident'_?" Sarima shrieked, pure horror written all over her exotic features. "Now look at that! They call _us_ barbarians, yet _they_ allow their dumb children to play so wild that they lose entire parts of their bodies!"

Now that wasn't fair. First of all, it was only an ear and secondly, it was not like Galinda was really missing all of it; it was merely a small bit of the upper corner, a quarter at most.

"A horse bit me when I was but a child," the blonde murmured so quietly that only Darin could really hear it.

"Excuse me, what did you say?" Sarima asked with raised eyebrows and cocking her head. "You know, it's terribly impolite to mumble."

"A horse bit her," Darina supplied, snorting.

"Is that for real? That's just precious!"

Sarima burst into peals of laughter and when the other ladies didn't join in at first, she quickly related the story to them in Vinkun. Soon, the entire table had a jolly good time imagining a wild beast of a horse chewing on a small, blonde girl's head, probably mistaking the flaxen locks for delicious straw.

Galinda could only sit there in shame, paralysed by so much humiliation. Tears began to prick at the corners of her eyes and her breathing became more and more erratic. The women surrounding her seemed to either ignore her disarranged state or take it as a cause for even more amusement.

She could not quite tell how long this pitiful spectacle had lasted, but it was immediately interrupted when the Prince, who had only casually passed by, came rushing towards the group of women, his features contorted in anger.

"What is this, Sarima? What cruelty have you devised this time?"

"No cruelty at all, my dear Fiyero. We are all just having a bit of a lark. Besides, this is a ladies only event."

"That's swell," the Prince replied grimly, "I'm already on my way out."

He moved over to Galinda's seat and offered her his hand.

"My Lady. Would you do me the pleasure of a stroll through the gardens?"

Barely registering what he had said or what she was doing, Galinda accepted his hand and stood. He helped her pushing back the chair and steadied her with one hand at the small of her back as he led her away.

After a few minutes of silent walking, Fiyero stopped and turned towards Galinda.

"I apologise for Sarima, she can be absolutely insufferable."

The Princess began to gradually come to and slowly shook her head.

"It's not your place to apologise for her, Your Highness." She paused, dapping her slightly glistening cheek with a tissue. "What I mean is that it's not your fault, so you should not burden yourself with the blame for her childish games, Your Highness."

"Hm… why don't we stop this _'Your Highness'_ nonsense?" he suggested.

"As you wish, My Prince."

The Prince pouted.

"Simply _'Fiyero' _will do."

The Princess swallowed a small sob.

"Well, it's also just _'Galinda'_ then," she offered.

"Can I call you _'Lin'_?"

With still glassy eyes, Galinda stared at him, taken aback by his forwardness.

"I take this as a yes," he chuckled and began to walk again.

He led her to the area where the gardens merged with the green meadows of the stables. A few of the stallions were turned out in small, individual paddocks. They came across a wooden bench and sat down.

"Well, Lin, I'm not sure if you really want to talk about what happened…"

Galinda stiffened.

"It's silly. It's nothing, really."

"It didn't seem like nothing," Fiyero insisted, his expression genuinely concerned.

Figuring that it probably didn't matter anymore and that it would be better she told him than Sarima, Galinda briefly pushed aside her hair and showed the Prince her mutilated ear.

"Ouch," he said and tried to have a second look, but she pushed his hand away.

"I'm sorry, b-but please… d-don't."

He nodded and folded his hands in his lap.

"It was an accident," she repeated her earlier words. "My father used to breed horses and one of his prized stallions was somewhat aggressive at times. When I was very little, I was reckless enough to just walk up to him, trying to give him a hug. He was quite nervy though because there was a mare nearby and so he was not very appreciative when I touched him. My father never bred him again."

Fiyero grinned at her.

"But you're still not afraid of horses."

"No, I suppose I'm rather stubborn like that," Galinda replied, managing a little smile of her own.

A comfortable silence settled between the two of them and for a short while, they simply watched and listened to the horses grazing.

"This is the first time I've seen real Vinkun horses," Glinda told him later. "My father used to breed Perthan Thoroughbreds and Munchkin Draft Ponies. They are all beautiful and useful in their own ways, but these animals are truly majestic."

"Well, thanks. We Vinkuns are very proud of our horses. They are of a very old bloodline and without any influences from other breeds. Only too bad our studs are currently roaming the Thousand Year Grasslands with our broodmares. They outclass any of our stallions, even my _Verdhë Jahl_." He gestured towards his golden horse in the left-hand pen. "Perhaps I should take you to see them sometime."

Galinda's eyes lit up.

"I would like that very much."

For a brief moment, it seemed as though they would lapse into silence again, but then Fiyero perked up, cast the Princess a searching look and finally broke into a wide grin.

"You know what?"

Galinda waited for him to go on and when he didn't, she tiled her head, frowning.

"Well, I surely do not. Would you be so kind and enlighten me?"

"You told me your secret, so I'll tell you one of mine."

"Well, it wasn't really a secret anymore once Lady Sarima shouted it out to the entire world," the blonde replied sullenly. "But if you don't mind, I'd still like to hear about yours, especially now that you brought it up. I know it's unladylike, but I'm full of curiosity, you must know."

Fiyero laughed.

"Well, the secret is that I have a sister."

"A sister?" Galinda could not recall Morrible, the Wizard or the Duke mentioning anything about a sister. "I haven't seen her around, so I suppose she's either traveling with your father, studying at some foreign university or already married."

"Nope, nope and nope."

Galinda blanched.

"She isn't deceased, is she?"

This time Fiyero looked slightly startled.

"What? No! Thank Lurline, she's still very much alive."

"Oh, I'm sorry," the Princess whispered, quite abashed and blushing. "I shouldn't have said that."

"It's fine.

"She's actually here, in the castle."

"That's odd. Why haven't I seen her then? Is she that shy?"

"A little maybe. But that's not why she's never around. The truth is, that she's something like the royal family's open secret."

"Hm."

Galinda rested her elbows on her knees and her chin on her knuckles.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"She's sort of hidden away, but not in a the-princess-in-the-tower kind of way. Most people in the Vinkus have heard of her, but nobody would ever dare acknowledge her existence."

The Princess' mouth fell open in a rather ungainly fashion and as soon as she became aware if this, she hurried to close it again.

"That's just _terrible!"_ she finally managed to choke out. "Why in Oz would anyone do that to the dear girl? Wait - you don't have to answer if that's already considered part of another secret."

"Um… not really, I guess."

Fiyero scratched the back of his neck thoughtfully, then decided to continue.

"Well, the reason is a very rare disfigurement," he explained.

Galinda's imagination began to run wild; from additional limbs to a missing face any conceivable and many more inconceivable deformities flashed before her mind's eye. Naturally, she wouldn't mention any of those to Fiyero.

"Like a maimed ear?" she asked instead, trying to make light of her own embarrassing blemish.

"A bit more obvious than that, I'm afraid."

And right away her thoughts jumped back to the one-eyed witch, the eight-legged freak and the beast without any extremities at all.

"You can meet her if you'd like," the Prince told her, although somewhat hesitant. "It's not like she'd bite you."

Bite? Did the girl possess a muzzle with razor sharp teeth?

"Uh… sure," Galinda agreed with quiet apprehension.

Fiyero jumped to his feet and offered to pull her up as well.

"Good. Let's go then."

"W-What? Now?"

He looked at her in a mixture of confusion and amusement.

"Yes, why in Oz not?"

Forcing down the lump that had been forming in her throat and shrugging her shoulders, Galinda stood.

"Why in Oz not."

With that, the Prince took her hand and marched ahead, followed by a fairly anxious Galinda.

**OO

Galinda knew of three entrances to the castle that were appropriate for the resident lords and ladies and their guests to use. The main entrance was in the centre of the front face of the building, the other two were situated in the back and leading to the east and west wings, respectively. All the other, smaller doors were meant to help the countless servants to stay mostly invisible. But there was another entrance, further to the right than the regular door to the west wing and a little harder to find, and this was the door Fiyero led her to.

"I hope you're wearing reasonably comfortable shoes?" the Prince said with little confidence.

She lifted up the skirt of her dress ever so slightly and pursed her lips. Comfort was of least concern when it came to female fashion, but as it happened, this pair at least was one of her marginally more practical ones.

He opened the door and Galinda could see that this part of the castle was well sectioned off. Instead of leading into a large hall, the door led to a simple stairwell with winding stairs that reached as far as she could see.

"I don't know, but to me this looks an awful lot like a princess in a tower."

Chuckling, Fiyero took her hand and encouraged her to take the first flight of stairs.

"Hopefully we won't have to climb all of them. Her apartment is on the third floor, above that are only some storage rooms and her own small library in the attic."

Galinda wasn't quite sure what concerned her more; the fact that the girl had an entire library to herself, or that there was still a chance that she might have to brave all of these terrible stairs, all the way up to the attic of that ozdamned castle. It seemed like the one big life lesson she would take away from her vacation in the Vinkus would be that her curiosity and youthful imprudence still needed to be outgrown.

By the time they reached the third floor, she was already fighting to keep her breathing even and she could feel a few drops of sweat running down her spine. These stairs were certainly not designed as well as those in the more public areas of the castle. She watched Fiyero knocking on the inconspicuous, old wooden door and prayed that this would be the end of their journey.

There was no reply, nevertheless, he opened the door and marched right through.

"Hey, Fae, how are things?"

Galinda was taken aback. Although the Prince's supposedly outlandish sister had been the entire reason for this arduous trip, she could not bring herself to pay much attention to the girl. The Princess' oddities were something she had come prepared for; the state of her chambers had caught her entirely off guard.

Everything was clean and orderly, but plain and austere, making her wonder whether the girl was following some religious calling. But what confused her the most was that there was only one simple room, made up not much unlike the dorm rooms she had seen during her formal visits to various renown universities. A wardrobe, a desk, a fireplace and a bed; that was all there was to the Princess' royal quarters.

Still stunned, Galinda began to wander through the narrow space, wide eyes taking in every unglamorous detail.

"Move away from the window," a voice suddenly came from the general direction of the bed, making her jump. "You're casting a shadow."

Suddenly remembering the girl she had come to see, Galinda now focused her attention on the figure on the bed. She wasn't really a girl, much more a woman and seemingly older than the Prince. She could not say why, but she had always envisioned his sister to be still a child.

The woman made an indignant noise and released a huffed breath.

Immediately, Fiyero jumped to Galinda's side and gingerly pulled her a few steps to the right.

"Mustn't cast shadows, must we," he murmured and laughed tensely.

Galinda herself blushed somewhat sheepishly. She averted her eyes just long enough to make an appropriately coy impression, but as soon as possible, she lifted her gaze again to further study the Princess. Sitting all but jackknived in the corner of her bed and half hidden by shadows, there actually was not too much of her to be studied.

All Galinda could tell was that she had impossibly straight, ink black hair that concealed her face like a curtain, or rather like a cascade of midnight rain. She almost stopped there, for she found herself immediately fascinated with the long, shimmering tresses. But she forced herself to move on and her eyes found the only other part of her that was clearly visible: the long, twig-like fingers that were holding the book she was reading. Galinda had to bite her lower lip to hold back a giggle: in the strange light that filtered through the single window, the Princess' slender hand had assumed a brilliant green colour.

All the while that Galinda had been staring at her, Fiyero had been talking to his sister, apologising for his infrequent visits over the past week or two and asking her what she had been up to. The woman, however, had not deigned to reply and simply continued to flip through the pages of her book.

Eventually, Galinda thought that it was about time for her to be formally introduced, and since Fiyero did not appear too concerned with her at this point, she decided to take the first step herself, no matter whether the Princess would acknowledge her or not.

"Um… excuse me, Your Royal Highness. Lady Fae, isn't it? May I introduce myself, my name is-"

The woman slowly lowered her book and just as slowly rolled back her shoulders, straightening her back. The hard, cutting look in her eyes made Galinda falter and fall silent.

"It's Elphaba," she said in a calm, but utterly intense tone and poor, speechless Galinda could only nod.

Turning towards her brother, Elphaba's eyes softened ever so slightly as she arched a curious eyebrow.

"Pray tell, what did you bring_ her_ here for?"

The Prince cleared his throat and beckoned Galinda closer.

"Please don't be rude, Elphaba, you're scaring her."

"I might as well, if that keeps her off my back."

Soon the book was back up again and the woman's face once more hidden behind raven silk.

Almost unperturbed, he proceeded.

"This is Lady Galinda of the Upper Uplands. She is our guest and might be staying for a while, so I thought it would be good if you girls were to get to know each other."

Elphaba lifted her gaze, barely peaking over the cover of her book. For a brief, terrifying clock-tick, her penetrating stare focused on Galinda and Galinda alone, making the blonde twist and squirm on the inside and almost on the outside as well.

"So you have made it to the _'meet the abhorrent sister stage,'_" the Princess said in a toneless voice, all attention back to the pages in front of her. "Congratulations. It has been a while since I had last had the pleasure the be introduced to one of my brother's pets."

"Elphaba!

"Come," Fiyero sighed, taking Galinda's arm. "I'm afraid we have caught her in one of her moods. Maybe I shouldn't have brought you here."

Galinda followed him out of the door and down the first few flights of stairs. She was profoundly confused. After everything the Prince had told her about his sister and seeing how she was being kept so well isolated, the meeting had been a great disappointment to say the least. As far as she could tell from all she had seen and heard, there was nothing particularly ghastly about the girl – _woman _– and she was sure that her sour attitude and wry sense of humour could not be the lone reason for her disownment. The Case of the outcast Princess Elphaba was nothing if not mind boggling.

"So, what do you think of my sister?" Fiyero asked when they had almost reached the bottom of the stairwell.

Again, all Galinda could think about was how surprisingly ordinary the Princess had appeared to her, but perhaps, that would have been a rude thing to say.

"Quite frankly, she is the most unusual and peculiar person I've ever met," she admitted instead and it wasn't a lie. Raised among only the most suitable of peers, caregivers, educators and servants, she had never had to deal with such wayward people like this Elphaba.

"And you are blonde."

This most unexpected reply had come from a few steps above them, where the irregularly placed torches cast an eerie shadow on the tall woman standing there.

Galinda emitted a small, involuntary shriek and threw herself into Fiyero's arms, eliciting a shrill cackle from the Vinkun Princess.

"Does she always do that?" Galinda whispered to Fiyero, thinking to herself that maybe, the woman had some insane quality to her.

Casting his sister an annoyed look, he gingerly patted Galinda's hands to calm her.

"No, not really. See it as a compliment – she finds you interesting enough to waste her time stalking you."

This seemed poor consolation.

Elphaba descended a few more stairs, until Galinda could see her properly.

Perhaps it was because her mind was already too worn and tired from all that had happened that day and particularly in the past fifteen minutes, but when Galinda finally registered that it wasn't a trick of light, that the woman before her was indeed green - the colour of emeralds to be exact - she could hardly bring herself to be shocked anymore. Instead, she used this chance to take in the severe features of the Princess' face, which stood in stark contrast with her stunningly beautiful, dark brown eyes. What drew her attention more than anything else, however, was the long, dark red gown she was wearing and the way it coordinated with her green skin.

The strangest feeling began to bloom in Galinda's chest. Ignoring all of the woman's strangeness and harshness and petulance for one short moment, it occurred to her that Elphaba resembled the _Dame de Coeur,_ a most unusual rose of a rich, red colour. It could only be found in the gardens of old Gillikinese manors and castles, for it had mostly fallen out of favour – the majority of people these days did not like the way it turned nearly black as it aged. Glinda, however, had always loved its scent, which only intensified the darker its petals grew. For a lady who took so much care to always maintain her own impeccable appearance, she could be astoundingly ignorant of others' external flaws at times.

She felt Fiyero's hand on her shoulder and blinking, doffed the odd notions her head had just cooked up.

"I'll be back tomorrow," she heard the Prince tell his sister. "Alone," he added and she felt a bewildering pang of disappointment.

The tall, green woman nodded curtly and turned, heading back upstairs.

On their way out, Glinda cast one last quick glance back, catching sight of Lady Elphaba doing exactly the same.


	4. Chapter Four: Encounters

_**AN:**_

_OK, I'm not sure if I'm too happy with the first few paragraphs of this chapter... inner monologues and ramblings are really not my strongest point! (and some of the transitions might be a bit weird, too...) Well, maybe let me know what you think if you've got the time... For the rest of the chap, I hope you'll enjoy the weird pre-Gelphie moments lol_

_At any rate,_

_Happy reading! :D_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four: Encounters<strong>

That night, Galinda was plagued by fragmented, fitful sleep. She tossed and turned between the sheets, the encounter with the Vinkun Princess preying on her mind until the wee hours of the morning. It was not that the trauma of laying eyes on Lady Elphaba's supposedly repulsive form was causing her nightmares - nothing of the sort. The problem that was keeping her thoughts from finding peace was much more the contradicting feelings the Princess had stirred deep inside of her, as well as the contradictions within the woman herself.

There was more to her queerness than just the green, although it might have been her most exotic quality. Yet, despite the odd colour of her skin, the scrawny limbs and sharp facial features, Galinda could not bring herself to call Elphaba _ugly_. Outlandish, startling, bizarre? Definitely. Ugly? No, no and no.

The same was also true for her character. The few words she had tossed at Galinda had been somewhere between rude, condescending and hateful, however, the blonde was disinclined to believe that these comprised the entire spectrum of emotions the emerald woman was capable of. And after all, Prince Fiyero had seemed quite fond of his sister. Most likely, it was her dreary life that had taught her to be wary of uninvited guests that randomly pop up in her room.

Coming to this conclusion, Galinda suddenly felt rather astute, if not wise and this pleasant, elevating feeling allowed her to get a measure of rest - at least until she woke again, bothered by the disconcerting realisation how, one way or another, she was drawn to and utterly fascinated by this person, this most improper woman. Surely, it must be inappropriate for a young lady to stay up all night, spending so much time and energy thinking about any subject matter, least of all a social anomaly like the outcast princess.

Repeating this thought over and over again in her head, almost like a mantra, she pulled the thin blanket up to her chin. She would give the seemingly hopeless venture of finding some much-needed sleep at least one last shot. Needless to say, this attempt was hardly any more successful than the previous ones.

* * *

><p>The following days, to scatter her disarranged thoughts, Galinda literally flung herself at Fiyero, aiming to spend as much time with him as possible. She did not mind hazarding the risk of coming across as demanding, or even clingy, for if worst were to come to worst, the man would still be hers, if only she still wanted him. Although this sort of conduct might not have been the best example for her good breeding, she decided to – just this <em>one<em> time, of course - be lenient with herself, for these were desperate times and she really was in dire need of distraction.

Fortunately, it did not seem like the Prince was too bothered by her almost constant presence. He gladly took her for more rides, showed her his favourite spots in the gardens and when the weather was less accommodating, they spent hours taking turns playing the piano, praising each other's musical talent.

As Galinda and the Prince grew closer and closer, Sarima's attitude became more and more dour – another risk Galinda had foreseen and gladly accepted. Whenever she was around Fiyero, the brunette would not dare saying a word against her and when she was by herself, the generous size of the castle made it easy enough to generally avoid any form of contact. Perhaps this solution was not ideal, however, it was sure to get her through the next few weeks, and eventually, she would return to the Emerald City and prepare for her upcoming wedding.

Such was the plan, yet after a brief honeymoon phase of about a week, this carefully constructed arrangement was turned on its head with the return of the King. Already two days in advance Fiyero had dreaded his father's imminent arrival, and soon Galinda understood the reason why.

There were no more hacks through the Vinkun wilderness, no more walks in the gardens. Every now and then, she would make the trip downstairs to the fireplace room to play some music, but all by herself, she took no particular delight in tapping away on the ivory keys. Fiyero was kept so busy by his father that he could barely make it to every second meal and with each passing day, the predatory look in Sarima's eyes grew more intense

Galinda's previous scheme turned out to be a trap. Whereas it had been a thrill, almost like a game at first, anticipating Sarima's steps and avoiding her whenever possible, had now become an exhausting and far too often unsuccessful endeavour. The only place where Galinda still felt absolutely safe was her own quarters, but besides reading and knitting, there was not much else in the small apartment to keep her occupied. Remembering that Fiyero had once told her about Sarima's distaste for horseback riding, she tired to convince a stable boy to let her borrow a horse, but the young man regretfully informed her that he had strict orders to not let her leave the castle grounds unchaperoned.

If there was one positive thing to be said about the past couple of days, it would be that Galinda, although lonely and bored out of her mind, had not relapsed into pondering over the Vinkun Princess. In fact, she had forgotten all about the emerald green woman until their paths, quite coincidentally, crossed once again.

Since the return of the King, there had been but a few evenings of entertainments after dinner, so it was up to Galinda herself to fill out the remaining hours before her usual bedtime. It was midsummer and so it was still bright outside, even after they had finished their meal. Hoping against hope, she asked Fiyero whether he would accompany her on a stroll through the gardens, but as expected, the Prince had to decline. So she went on her own.

After about half an hour of aimless wandering, she happened to come across a canopy swing and sat down. Her head tilted back, her eyes closed and her arms lazily spread over the backrest, she began to swing back and forth.

* * *

><p>A big, cold drop of water on her nose woke her with a start. As far as she could remember, the sun had still been shining bright the last time she had opened her eyes; now it was nearly pitch-dark. The first drop soon got company and within a few clock-ticks, the drizzle turned into a brisk shower. Galinda jumped up with a shriek and hurried along the footpath that would lead her back to the castle. Out of concern for her shoes and dress and perfect curls, she fled the rain, almost as though she were worried that she herself might melt.<p>

By the time she reached the castle, the rain had already lessened considerably and as soon as she stepped through the door, the sound of quiet pitter-patter had stopped completely. With a huff of mild annoyance, she tried to re-arrange her hair as best she could and inspected the damage the water had done to her wardrobe. It was all only half as bad as she had feared, but she was a little cold in her damp clothes.

Of course, the most sensible and proper thing to do would have been for her to return upstairs to her room, discard the wet dress and shoes and retire for the night. However, feeling like she needed a little pick-me-up after that frustrating episode in the rain, she decided to pay the cosy fireplace room a short visit and play some happy tune while the warmth would dry her clothes.

Perhaps it should have struck her as odd that the fire in the fireplace was indeed crackling merrily, despite the fact that the room was supposedly empty. Yet, either preoccupied or simply careless, Galinda paraded through the door, headed straight for the piano.

Just as she passed the fireplace, one of her feet caught on something lying on the floor and she almost lost her balance. Startled, she whirled around to search for the cause of her near-fall. Staring back at her were two large, brown eyes, belonging to the green Princess. The tripping hazard turned out to have been her clumpy boots.

Where Galinda's eyes widened in surprise, Elphaba's narrowed dangerously.

"Don't you dare make a sound, you little idiot," the emerald woman snarled.

Glinda sucked in a sharp breath of air and quickly pressed her lips together, sealing her mouth shut.

Elphaba watched her for a while; intently, guardedly and clearly unsure how to deal with her.

"Fine, listen," Galinda said at last in a bout of exasperation and courage. "From what I gather, you're not supposed to be down here, or you would not be so apprehensive about me walking in on you. But I promise that I won't tattletale, all right? All I want to do is disappear in that dark corner over there and play the piano, and that's exactly what I'm going to do now."

Not waiting for any sort of response, she turned on her heels and covered the remaining few paces until she reached the piano. There was no need for her to look back to know that the Princess was still staring at her, her intense glare boring into the back of her head. She sat down, hands folded in her lap and took a couple of deep breaths to compose herself. Her heart was racing. It was absolutely absurd, but she was on tenterhooks, far more nervous than that night that she had played for the Queen and her guests. Gingerly, she laid her fingers on the polished keys and began to let them dance.

As usual, playing - even in front of that unnerving thing that was Lady Elphaba – became easier with each bar. Eventually, she forgot all about her verdant spectator and lost herself in the flowing melodies, just as she was wont to do. There were no critique and complaints coming from Elphaba's side of the room, or at least none that she was aware of. Undisturbed, she continued to play piece after piece, until she was left exhausted, drained of all the music she'd held within.

"Beautiful. Elegant. Enchanting." Elphaba said in that impassive way of hers after the blonde had finished.

Galinda couldn't help but wonder whether the comment was regarding her, her performance, or – dare she hope – both. But why should the Princess' opinion matter to her anyway? It wasn't like the green woman was a suitable peer to seek approval from.

Nevertheless, the paleness of her cheeks turned into the most precious shade of pink, the effect tragically wasted in the dim light of the fireplace room. Absolutely still, the blonde remained sitting on the piano chair, waiting for the uncomfortable feeling in her chest to dissipate.

From behind her, she registered the noise of shuffling and the rustling of rough fabric. When she turned, she found Elphaba standing, straightening out her shapeless, black frock.

"You're leaving already?"

Instead of a reply, she received an irritated look.

"I suppose you're right. It's late enough."

With that, Galinda also rose from her chair.

"Good night, Your Highness," she curtsied. "Fresh dreams."

As she passed Elphaba, a green hand jutted forward, grabbing her forearm and twisting it to make her spin around and face the Princess. Galinda's heart almost stopped and her stomach felt as though it was turning itself inside out at the penetrating stare in stormy, brown eyes.

"I know your kind, coming flouncing into our castle, all dainty and pretty and lovely," Elphaba hissed.

Galinda stood close enough to feel the warmth of her breath brush past her ear and almost swooned at the sensation.

"But make no mistake," the taller woman continued, "my brother is betrothed to Lady Sarima and if that ever were to change, it wouldn't be for the likes of you, who only seek to further themselves, rise up in the world. I won't allow it."

Her last words were accompanied by a little push that sent the blonde girl stumbling backwards a few steps. With a huff and a dramatic whirl, the Princess turned, headed for the door.

Galinda's head was a hot mess. She felt angry, frightened and piqued, all at the same time. Her face freshly flushed again, she called after the insolent woman.

"Don't think you know everything about me or my true intentions," she spat.

Her proud words fell flat as Elphaba shrugged them off with a soft scoff and quietly closed the door behind her.

* * *

><p>And there she was back on her mind again, Princess Elphaba, dominating her every thought.<p>

Since their second meeting had been far more interactive, one would assume that it should have at least provided Galinda with a few more insights, clarifying and solving some of the riddles she was grappling with. But in reality, Elphaba had superbly succeeded in confusing the blonde even further by adding a new piece to the puzzle, which wouldn't quite fit anywhere as of yet.

_'__Beautiful. Elegant. Enchanting.'_

These three words were stuck in Galinda's head, overshadowing everything else that had transpired that night. Despite the dispassionate tone they had been uttered with and despite the rough treatment she had been subjected to almost immediately afterwards, they still made her tingle ever so slightly whenever she repeated them to herself.

This time Fiyero was not available to provide distraction, however, it no longer mattered, for Galinda had decided to face the issue head on.

She did not dare to intrude in Lady Elphaba's personal quarters, but the following days, she spent every free minute keeping an eye out for the Princess, hoping to learn more about her and solve the mysterious, green riddle. Once or twice, she caught sight of her, but only briefly. Evidently, Elphaba was only to be found when she indeed intended to be found, or under the most unexpected of circumstances.

* * *

><p>A ball was being staged, much grander than the small dinner party on the evening of Galinda's arrival. The blonde was more anxious than excited about the event, due to the long list of eminent guests that were being expected. As the Princess of Oz, being seen and admired by a large crowd of people was nothing she would be overly concerned about, but for the time being, she needed to protect her identity as Galinda Upland, a fair lady of lesser nobility. The risk of being recognised by at least one of the attendees spoilt every last bit of her enthusiasm.<p>

Sitting in front the mirror, she watched the maid brushing and coiffing her golden curls. Her upper body was as stiff as a board, her elegant fingers were playing artfully with the laced hem of her underdress.

"No need to be so nervous, My Lady," the young woman chortled as she pinned a strand of hair in its proper place. "You are so beautiful and elegant, everyone will adore you."

Galinda smiled faintly. For once, this was exactly what she feared.

Golden tresses were soon organised into an elegant bun, adorned with three green feathers, as was the latest fashion. When Galinda studied her reflection to inspect her handmaiden's work, the weak smile on her lips disappeared altogether. The girl she saw in the looking glass resembled the heir to the Ozian throne far too much for her liking.

"Is something wrong, My Lady?"

"Take it out," Galinda choked out and the maid looked confused.

"Oh. Well, would you prefer this ornate comb instead of the feathers, or this slide, perhaps?"

"No!"

The servant had already removed the feathers and Galinda began to briskly pluck the pins out of her hair.

"My Lady, what-"

"Let it down," the blonde instructed in a breathy voice.

"But My Lady, for these sorts of events an updo is usually –"

"Let it down, I said."

The maid surrendered to her superior's wish, removed the last few hairpins and combed out a couple of tangled strands.

"With your permission, My Lady, I will braid the sides and gather them in a small twist at the back?"

Galinda nodded mutely.

A little later, another look into the mirror. Although the end result was nothing that could possibly delight any fashion-conscious lady of this age, she was rather satisfied with the subtle, yet effective change.

Now it was time for the dress. She rose and crossed the room. Standing in front of the wardrobe where her outfit for the evening was hanging on the door, she relentlessly shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Emerald green; what was I thinking?"

Puzzled and resigned, the maid stood by and watched as Galinda rummaged through her collection of ball gowns and costumes, looking for a better alternative.

At the very back of the wardrobe, she found a bordeaux and white dress with ruffled sleeves and neckline. She wrinkled her nose, thinking how these were definitely not her colours and wondering why she even possessed a garment such as this. Yet in the end, these were the exact reasons why she chose to wear the outfit.

All made up and looking as unlike her princess self as possible, Galinda eagerly awaited the footman who had been charged with escorting her to the reception hall. When the young man arrived, she noticed the way he just barely arched his eyebrow and she smiled to herself, knowing that she had done well enough at not being quite as perfect as usual.

In the reception hall, the Queen was busy pairing up those guests who had not brought along escorts of their own. Galinda nodded her thanks to the footman and quietly waited her turn.

Surveying the gentlemen available, she decided that there was great variety in age and attractiveness. In the best case, she would be assigned a dashing, young nobleman with superb dancing abilities and good manners, at worst, she'd have to deal with one of those wrinkled, plump, old doters.

"Lady Galinda," Queen Baxiana finally addressed her, "may I introduce Sir Chuffrey of Paltos?"

Sir Chuffrey was certainly not one of the most youthful candidates available, yet nevertheless, Galinda thought she could certainly have made a worse catch. His hair was already silvern, but well groomed and although Galinda knew that Paltos was not the domain of any of the greater Gillikin lords, she could tell from his wardrobe that he was at least more than sufficiently wealthy. She later learnt that, although he was a baronet, he considered himself a businessman rather than an aristocrat.

"How do you do?" Galinda said pleasantly, holding out her hand for Sir Chuffrey to kiss. He was clearly delighted to do so, grinning from ear to ear as if he had just hit the jackpot.

Galinda opened her mouth to strike up a light conversation, but the hushed whispers and gushing that suddenly ensued, alerted her to the arrival of the Crown Prince. As was to be expected, the girl hanging off Fiyero's arm was Sarima, dressed in a richly embroidered dress of cloth of gold. It complemented her tanned skin and dark brown eyes perfectly and she looked every inch the queen everyone thought she were soon to become. Galinda, however, knew better and when Sarima cast her a triumphant smirk, the blonde replied with a mysterious smile of her own.

More guests filed into the reception hall with their partners and Galinda cautiously turned away a little to be less conspicuous. Out of the corners of her eyes, she recognised a few faces and nervously began to chew the insides of her cheeks.

The young royal couple took up their position in the front of the queue and the Queen organised everyone else according to rank and importance. Once the music set in, the guests moved into the grand ballroom, one pair at a time, as the master of ceremonies announced their names and titles. Galinda and Sir Chuffrey were among the last, which suited the blonde just well, for most of the other guests would no longer be paying attention by the time they were going to make their entrance.

As soon as everyone was gathered, the small orchestra began to play the first dance number of the evening and, as the etiquette prescribed, Fiyero was the first to lead his lady to the floor. Chuffrey did the same as soon as was appropriate and proved to be an excellent dancer.

Contrary to what she had expected, for the first hour or so, Galinda was indeed enjoying herself. Sir Chuffrey was amiable and attentive – too amiable and too attentive, as she had to find out as the evening progressed. All it took were three glasses of champagne and his hands grew confident enough to roam. While the pair danced, they first began to venture south from their proper place, to where her bodice met the skirt and slightly below, dangerously close to landing on her behind. Later, they suddenly moved in the opposite direction, for a brief moment lingering where they ought to rest, then creeping further up, until she could feel his cold fingers on the delicate skin of her bare shoulder blades. Afterwards, when they allowed themselves a break from all the twirling and whirling, Chuffrey spent some time chatting to the one or the other of his former, current and potential business partners. Galinda was quietly standing next to him, being pretty and charming and all the while trying to ignore the goose bumps caused by his ever-present fingers ghosting up and down her arms.

She bore all this with as much grace as she could muster, judging it not worth to make a scene (although she swore to herself that the Ozian Crown would never make business with Sir Chuffrey of Paltos – _again_, if such had been the case in the past).

What really unravelled her composure, however, were the countless familiar eyes she met as they danced or simply stood at the sidelines and watched. Anxious, she could not help worrying whether they, too, would recognise her, or at least be compelled to ponder over some vague resemblance.

The longer she spent in the ballroom, the harder this disquiet became to endure. Every face she recognised seemed to turn her way, either with appalled expressions plastered all over them, or snide smirks on their lips. How much of this was real and how much figment of her troubled mind, she could not tell.

Her unease must have begun to show, for Sir Chuffrey promptly began to change the direction of his steps, guiding her back to the outer circle of the dance floor. When they finally came to a halt, he left her for a clock-tick before returning with a glass of water.

"I hope you don't mind me being this frank, but you seem unwell, Lady Galinda," he said concerned, lifting his hand to tuck a strand of hair behind the blonde's ear.

Although Galinda was able to evade him just on time, this proved to be the final straw for her. Her chest heaving as she struggled to draw her next breath, her eyes darted around the hall, searching for an exit. Once she had found a door but a few paces away from where she was standing, she calmed just enough to mutter a weak excuse before rushing off.

She was startled and a little apprehensive when she found out that the door did not lead her to the great hallway as she had hoped, but to a narrow flight of stairs. Worried that Chuffrey might be following her and determined to not set foot in this ballroom of hell again, she climbed the marble steps. The stairs ended in a small platform with an ornate arch to the left. The sound of the music could be heard clearly from there and when Galinda walked through the archway, she discovered a gallery that stretched the entire length of the ballroom. She dared cast a glance down and could see the other guests dancing, the ladies' colourful dresses flaring as their partners whirled them around the dance floor.

Dizzy from the height, paired with her still persisting fears of being discovered, she took a few steps backwards, withdrawing into the shadows. Beginning to feel a little more secure already as soon as she knew herself out of the people's sight, she almost cried out loud when she, entirely unexpectedly, collided with a rigid body. A bony hand quickly covered her mouth to muffle the tiny squeak escaping her lips.

Only two heartbeats later, she was being released and spun around to gape at the green Princess casually leaning against the wall.

"It would seem I attract tiny, ditsy blondes like some sort of lodestone." Elphaba said evenly. "You keep bumping into me. Evidently, you can't withstand the pull of my magnetic field."

Said blonde's mouth opened and closed uselessly as she tried her best to come up with a fitting retort. Elphaba watched her with raised eyebrows, then looked away and mumbled something that might have sounded like _'never mind,'_ but Galinda couldn't say for sure, so she let it slide.

After a couple of moments of uncomfortable silence, Galinda moved to lean against the wall next to the emerald woman.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, wondering whether the question would upset the Princess.

She didn't answer straight away, but when she did, her voice, as usual, did not betray any emotions.

"Just because I'm not allowed to dance and scare away all my royal parents' distinguished guests that doesn't mean I can't at least enjoy the music. The real question is: what are _you _doing here, Lady Galinda of the Upper Uplands? Are you throwing a pathetic, little tantrum because my brother didn't ask you to be his partner tonight?"

Mildly shocked that the Princess had somehow remembered her name, Galinda decided to tell the truth.

"I've never had any silly notions about His Royal Highness choosing me over Lady Sarima," she declared with a slight glare in her eyes. "I'm well aware that I'm too far below him in station and it would simply not have been proper."

Elphaba nodded.

Galinda pushed away from the wall and hesitantly took two steps towards the handrail from where she could catch a glimpse at the people below. When she spoke again, she struggled to contain the minor hitch in her voice.

"I just… somehow felt trapped down there. The atmosphere somehow seemed to slowly suffocate me."

"I can sympathise with that," was all the green Princess said in reply, yet these few words had a startling effect on Galinda.

"What?" Elphaba asked a little irritated, but also rather amused as she studied the smaller girl's incredulous face.

"You actually said something sort of nice," she answered, still rather thunderstruck.

Elphaba once more quirked her eyebrows, then – if only faintly – allowed one corner of her mouth to curl upwards.

"To be honest, I'm actually glad I'm not under the obligation to partake in these nights of dancing and frivolities," the Princess said after some time. "I think I would feel precisely the way you just described or perhaps even worse would I have to mingle with so many complacent toffs and nobs."

Feeling a bit more secure in Elphaba's company – for whatever inexplicable and irrational reason – Galinda was now leaning over the balustrade with her elbows resting on the railing and her chin on her hands. She alternated between watching Fiyero and Sir Chuffrey - the latter only to make sure he was not coming after her.

Elphaba pulled herself up from where she had been sitting on the floor for a while and approached Galinda, making sure to steer clear of the guests' line of sight.

"Are you going to stand there all night, goggling at my brother?"

Galinda only made some distracted noise.

"How about we get some of that fancy food these fine ladies and gentlemen down there are stuffing their faces with?" the raven haired woman then suggested and confused the blonde tilted her head to look at her.

"Hm? What?"

Heaving an exasperated sigh, Elphaba unceremoniously grabbed the blonde's wrist.

"Just come," she said and dragged the stunned girl in the opposite direction to where she had come from.

Galinda's first instinct was to be scandalised by the green woman's inappropriate behaviour, yet she had difficulties to ignore the warm feeling flooding through her body at the somehow not all that unpleasant contact. First her cheeks, then her entire face blushed furiously and she was incredibly thankful that the Princess never turned back as they made their way down a flight of stairs matching those Galinda had climbed earlier, through a hidden servant door and down another set of stairs that led them straight to the kitchen.

Having arrived at their destination, Elphaba let go of her hand and walked over to the apparently only servant in the room, an elderly woman who was scrubbing away on a couple of pots and pans. Galinda used the opportunity to catch her breath and will her complexion to at least change back to a paler shade of pink.

After exchanging a few brief words with the servant, Elphaba returned to Galinda with a trolley laden with sweet, as well as savoury treats. As she placed everything on the table, the shorter girl anxiously watched the old woman standing with her back to them.

The emerald woman looked at her in puzzlement, then followed her gaze and smirked.

"Never mind her, that's only Nanny. Well, she's a kitchen maid and not really a nanny, but she practically raised me since my mother was not particularly inclined to do so herself. Or hire a professional nurse for that matter."

The blonde stared at her with wide, shocked eyes and Elphaba seemed to grow a little uncomfortable, although it was hard to tell when or when not such a dispassionate creature like her was feeling anything at all.

"Eat," she curtly said at last, motioning for the food before them.

Galinda decided on one of the tiny quiches and took a bite. As the two young women sat and ate in silence, she could not stop thinking how odd it seemed that the Queen, who had always seemed rather warm and welcoming, would neglect her own child like this – not only in later years, but from a fairly young age, as it seemed.

They did talk a little every now and then, but most of these conversations soon turned awkward, so they were almost more comfortable saying nothing at all. Watching Elphaba whenever she dared to, Galinda eventually arrived at the conclusion that the green girl must have already shared more than she had intended and was now trying to slip back into her usual, surly self.

After a considerable period of quiet munching, the raven-haired woman noisily pushed back her chair and rose to her feet.

"I'll eat these upstairs," she explained to Galinda, who was questioningly watching her gathering a tart, a few pieces of prawn toast and a pudding in a small cloth. "Urgent words are waiting to be read," she added before she turned away.

Wedging another pastry between her teeth, she rushed out of the kitchen, leaving the blonde bemused.

"Huh," she said a little dazed when Nanny waddled over to clear the table. "Who would have guessed that that scrawny thing eats so much?"

"Only when the King and the Queen are entertaining, only when they are entertaining," Nanny supplied with a sigh.

Surprised, Galinda looked up to her. After a moment of hesitation, she dared to ask the question that had promptly popped into her head at the old servant's remark.

"Is that because she likes the food so much or is she clandestinely upset that she doesn't get to join?"

"Now that would be telling, duckie and I don't even know you," Nanny replied and snickered. "Now quick, hurry along; back to the ball or up to your room, for soon the kitchen will be teeming with servants who must not discover you."

Galinda nodded and, mimicking Elphaba, prepared herself a little snack bag.

Back in her room, she hid the treats under her pillow until her maid had helped her out of her ball gown and left. Quickly, she washed and brushed out her hair and then she hopped into bed, grabbed a book to read and began munching, imagining Elphaba doing the exact same thing in that exact same moment.

Once she had finished the food and read a couple more pages in her book, she turned off the light and wiggled under her blankets, the biggest smile on her face. Then she sighed and lightly shook her head. Perhaps, Elphaba really was a riddle she simply cold not hope to solve; perhaps, she wasn't meant to be solved.


	5. Chapter Five: Negotiations

**_AN:_**

_Aaaaaaaaaand here is chapter five already!_

_Not much else to say lol_

_Happy reading!_

_MLE_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five: Negotiations<strong>

Galinda bounced out of bed, humming some tune she still remembered from the ball the night before. She stretched her arms, released a high-pitched squeal and sashayed over to the window to draw back the curtains. It was raining. The blonde pouted briefly, but soon her expression lit up again. She had enough sunshine in her heart that morning to make up for the lack of natural light and warmth and thus was rather unperturbed.

The door to her bedroom opened and her handmaiden's head appeared in the small gap.

"Oh, you're already up, My Lady," she realised with some surprise and opened the door fully so she could rush into the room and retrieve some fresh underclothes from the wardrobe.

Galinda and her maid completed their usual morning routine and when everything was done, the blonde, despite the bad weather, slipped into a light, pink sundress. Mostly left to her own devices and given plenty of freedom, she was certainly developing the one or the other quirk.

On her way out of the apartment, she noticed a bouquet of fresh flowers on one of the end tables. The pink and white roses smelt wonderful and looked even lovelier in their vase of Glikkun crystal. There were at least fifty of them – a costly gift. Apprehensively, Galinda plucked the card from admits the tender blossoms. It read Sir Chuffrey's name and she exhaled noisily.

"The Baronet inquired about your health this morning," the maid informed her and Galinda wrinkled her nose.

"If he asks again, you may tell him that I'm feeling better, but that I'd rather spend the day quietly so I can recuperate."

The other woman cast her a curious look, yet of course, she was in no position to question her superior.

"As you wish, My Lady."

Leaving her room, Galinda's first steps were in the direction of the breakfast room, but midway, she paused and thought better of it. She decided that it would be prudent to skip breakfast that morning, for there would be plenty of guests present who had stayed the night and as it appeared, Sir Chuffrey would most likely be among them. Seeing him again seemed almost worse a prospect at that point than running into someone who might recognise her; risking both would have been ludicrous.

So she turned left where she usually would have turned right and descended the grand staircase down to the big hall. As she reached the backdoor, she found that umbrellas had been placed at the guest's disposal and she quickly took one and opened it before stepping outside. She walked as close to the castle wall as the narrow footpath would allow, so as to keep her shoes and the lower section of her skirt as dry and clean as possible. Headed for that small, inconspicuous door Fiyero had led her through a little while ago, her steps inexplicably quickened the closer she got to her destination. When she pulled the door open, she realised that it was far heavier than it looked and grumbled a little about already breaking a sweat before even climbing the first flight of three (or possibly more?) stairs.

Arriving on the third floor, she gingerly knocked on the door to Elphaba's room, almost startled, when this time a clear _'enter'_ sounded form the other side. She pushed down the handle and swiftly slipped inside before the Princess could recognise and close the door on her.

Silence span between them as Galinda stood leaning against the rough wood of the door while Elphaba seemed too engrossed in her book to even notice her. Eventually, however, after long, green fingers had turned the pages seven times, she looked up, defined brows furrowing immediately.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she asked, her voice conveying her irritation, but without much of the usual edge to it.

Together with the fact that the Princess had not yet pushed her out of the window or down the stairs, Galinda considered this a good sign and a bright smile appeared on her face. She crossed the small space of the room, grabbing a plain, wooden chair on the way and positioned the chair and herself right next to Elphaba's bed.

"Well, Elphie, now that we're friends -"

"Whoa!"

The tall woman shot up from where she had been sitting jack-knifed on her bed and held out two long arms in defence.

"Hold it right there, blondie! Last night was, well…"

It was a fascinating sight for Galinda to see habitually confident and sure-footed Elphaba struggling for words. Avoiding the shorter girl next to her bed, the Princess's eyes stoically stared at an old speck of dirt on the wall. Her hands, however, ran relentlessly through her hair, forcefully yanking on some of the silken strands.

Finally, she heaved an exasperated sigh and brown eyes found blue ones, fixing them with a glare.

"Give the devil an inch and they'll take a mile," Elphaba pressed out between clenched teeth before looking away again.

"Listen, me playing nice for one ozdamned evening doesn't mean an invite to barge into my room whenever you feel like it -"

"I knocked and you called for me to come in," Galinda corrected, but the Princess chose to ignore her and continued, undeterred.

"- and least of all, does it give you leave to create some ridiculous pet name for me. May I remind you, that we're not that familiar, Lady Galinda Upland of the Upper Uplands. Furthermore, I do not intend to ever familiarise myself with you to a level where such intimacy would be appropriate, nor would I appreciate being called anything but my full given name, even if we – hypothetically speaking – were that close. Do you understand?

"You may skip that wretched title though," she added in an afterthought. "I get this terrible urge to retch every time I hear it – which thank goodness isn't all too often."

_'__Such vulgarity!'_ Galinda thought to herself, but refrained from commenting.

"Well, my apologies," she said instead, genuinely abashed. "This was indeed rather bold of me. I don't' know what came over me. Of course, I'll refrain from using this name for the time being."

She didn't quite know why she had included the last four words and she cringed at Elphaba's quirked eyebrow, anticipating another outlash. She took a few steps backwards as a measure of precaution. In the end, the raven-haired Princess only huffed and threw her hands up in frustration and the blonde got off almost unscathed. The scrawny woman climbed back into her bed and picked up her book, continuing where she had left off. Ignored, Galinda remained standing near the door.

"So what do you want from me?" came Elphaba's voice from behind her book some time later, catching Galinda off guard.

"I-I felt lonely," she admitted. "And I'm sure you do, too, since Prince Fiyero seems otherwise occupied at the moment…"

"I'm fine," came the curt reply.

"But don't we all need some company from time to time?"

Elphaba scoffed.

"I have all the company I could possibly need right here: philosophers, scientists, visionaries, poets – you name it."

Slightly taken aback, Galinda blinked a few times, then stemmed her hands on her hips and cast her a disapproving look.

"These are_ books_, Elphaba."

"Your point being?"

"Sweet Lurline, you're really difficult!"

"No one told you to bother, unless my brother -"

"No, he didn't send me," the blonde moaned. "However, I maintain that you require company – _human_ company, Your Royal Stubbornness."

Exhaling noisily, Elphaba marked her current page in her book and put the heavy tome aside. Galinda's mouth twitched ever so slightly in anticipated triumph, but the Princess was about to disappoint her.

"Miss Galinda. If I remember this right, _you _were the one who told me to refrain from making assumptions. Yet here you stand, assuming an awful lot about my person. How about you follow your own advice from time to time?"

The petite girl's eyes widened and she could feel her ears turn red. Her shoulders slumped a notch and she averted her gaze sheepishly, but without verbally admitting her faux pas.

"If you're so lonely, why don't you go and socialise with Lady Sarima?" Elphaba suggested with a smirk. "It appears to me that you and her have similar views on the necessity of human contact."

"As you can imagine, she doesn't like me all that much," Galinda replied, pouting just a little.

"I'm shocked," Elphaba deadpanned. "And what tells you that I don't dislike you even more than she does?"

"You were generous enough to put up with me the other day."

Her eyes still trained on Galinda, the green woman felt for her book. Her fingers brushed the friable leather and distractedly, she picked the book up to hide herself and her growing fluster behind it.

"Yes, I was," she replied wearily. "And perhaps, I'm already regretting it."

"In that case, first of all, let me thank you for not hounding me from your apartment the instant I set foot in it, and secondly, please allow me to try and make you unregret what you did that evening."

Lowering the book just an inch, Elphaba shot her an amused glance.

"That should be interesting."

"Well…" Galinda tried to think. "Why don't we spend some time together to get to know each other better?"

Brown eyes rolled and the book once again became their sole focus of attention.

"We are already spending time together and as I said, I'm not particularly interested in getting any more acquainted with you, Miss Upland."

"A walk in the gardens, perhaps?" Galinda tried anew, suborn, yet hopeless.

"This hardly is the right weather for that."

"It's scarcely more than a drizzle now; nothing an umbrella couldn't ward off."

"I dislike rain in any form," Elphaba replied in a tone so assertive that it effectively ended the conversation.

Galinda acknowledged that Elphaba had won this battle, yet was determined to win the war. Quietly, she moved her chair into the corner by the window and sat down. A book that looked just thin enough for her taste lay on the window board and she decided to bridge the time by browsing through the pages.

Thin the book might have been, but she soon had to surrender to the difficulty of the subject matter. By nurture, she was more the literary type, drawn to pretty words and poetic expressions; the scientific vocabulary in Elphaba's book was almost as incomprehensible to her as a foreign language.

With a sigh, she put the volume aside and looked over to Elphaba, who seemed not to have moved the entire time, save for her left hand that was charged with the important task of turning the pages. She strained her eyes and craned her neck to make out the title of the book she was reading. The word _'Animals'_ was all she could decipher, but she assumed that the book must have been of similar content as the one she had tried to skim.

"You're really interested in Animals, aren't you?" Galinda asked, breaking the silence for the first time in at least an hour.

A small, affirmative noise was the only reply she received.

"On my second day here I saw an Antelope water the flowers and I was so startled that I almost tripped over my own feet," Galinda remembered. "You have a lot of Animal servants here, but you must know, in Gillikin, I have never even met their kind. I think Gillikinese don't deem them worthy to enter their homes and therefore don't enlist their services."

For the second time that morning, the Princess dogeared the most recent page of her book and set her reading aside. This time it was for the sake of a proper conversation – a grand win for Galinda.

"I'm afraid it's more than just petty snobbery," she said solemnly and the blonde found herself moved by the sad expression her dark eyes had assumed. "Soon after his inauguration about fifteen years ago, the Wizard began to implement bans that would restrict the Animals' rights and freedom. Year after year, the concessions would become less and the restrictions more. There are bans on movement, transportation, education, employment; in most areas of Oz, being an Animal these days means living like an animal, but with the awareness of the injustice humans inflict on them, while mere animals mostly live in blissful ignorance."

Galinda cocked her head.

"So your parents are defying the Wizard by employing Animal servants?"

"Not quite. They would if they were to give them higher-ranking positions, but they are too craven to take it up with those ninnies in the Emerald City."

Galinda could see Elphaba's jaws working and wondered what upset her so. Her mind shaped by her upbringing, she was convinced that there must be a natural order to the state of things, or they would not be the way they were. After all, The Wizard was a just ruler.

"Well, surely Animals are fairly different from us humans, which would make coexistence rather difficult."

The look she received in return shocked her. Rather than amused or angry at her ideas, or perhaps lacking knowledge on the topic, Elphaba appeared hurt, an expression of emotion much stronger than any Galinda had witnessed so far.

"Your mindset practically begs the question whether I ought to be considered a human or an Animal and whether it would be more fitting to treat me the way they are being treated."

Galinda almost gaped at her, but quickly reminded herself that this would be most unbecoming. Her disbelief, however, was the same. Never would she consider Elphaba anything but human, green skinned or not.

"Animals possess the same spirit we do; they think, talk and feel like us," the Princess continued. "The only differences are the shape of their bodies and their coloration. A fine reason to be ostracised," she added with a hollow laugh. She took a tense, shaky breath, then concentrated her gaze on Galinda to search for a reaction.

Elphaba's words had moved the blonde, but also rocked her entire world view – not only in regards of Animals, but also in regards of the Wizard, whom she had always trusted and respected as her deputy. If Elphaba was indeed right, his treatment of the Animals (of which she had had no knowledge up until that day to start with) would be cause for serious concern.

All in all, this was far too much to digest for the heiress apparent, and she felt terribly overwhelmed. Her first instinct was to escape the small room and catch some fresh air to help her sort out her thoughts. But for the first time, she had some sort of a proper conversation with the green Princess, and for reasons still beyond her, she did not want to ruin this opportunity. Since she knew that the taller woman was waiting for a reply, she fought to gather at least a few words.

"I must admit, I don't know much about Animals," she said quietly, subdued. "I have never been taught anything about them."

Elphaba nodded and her eyes softened a little.

"Does that surprise you? If society doesn't even deem them worthy of letting them polish the dirt off their shoes or scrub their floors; why would they have the slightest interest in learning about them? It would seem like a terrible waste of time."

"Yeah…"

Scrambling off her bed, Elphaba brushed past the blonde and retrieved a book from her well-stocked shelf.

"Here." She pushed the thick and heavy thing in Galinda's small hands. "This is a text on basic biology. It was published before the Wizard's reign and is not biased against Animals. You might find it rather informative."

Galinda nodded as she pressed the book to her chest.

* * *

><p>Over the next few days that followed, Galinda visited Elphaba often, sometimes twice a day or more. Getting along with the green, wayward thing was a challenge to say the least. There was a lot of back and forth - whenever she made some progress, some minor setback had to be expected as well.<p>

And every evening, Galinda sat in her bed, Elphaba's biology book in her lap. She would let her dainty hand glide over the cover and read the title. That was about as far as she would get. She had yet to muster enough courage to challenge her longstanding views and ideals by allowing this new knowledge to disabuse her from any misconceptions she might be holding.

So when she and the Princess talked, she meticulously avoided the subject of Animals. Instead, she learnt that Elphaba was interested in various religions – their history, theories and specific customs – but was an unconvertible atheist and did not even believe in the existence of her own soul (which horrified Galinda, yet she would never tell the emerald woman). One afternoon, she saw her read a collection of ancient ballads and sought to impress her with her broad understanding about Gillikinese Classics, but had to find out that Elphaba often read for the sake of reading and, in truth, despised poetry.

About a week after her first visit to the Princess' quarters, Galinda once again got up early in the morning, looking forward to seeing her unusual friend – or whatever she should call Elphaba. Morning routine completed, she found herself standing in front of the mirror a little longer than usual, struggling to make a decision regarding the right dress to wear. No sooner had she finally chosen a sky blue, long-sleeved day dress, a knock on the door could be heard and her maid hurried out of the room to answer the door. She returned with a calling card, which she promptly handed to Galinda.

_'__Meet me at the bench by the paddocks as soon as you can._

_Fiyero.'_

The blonde kept staring at the piece of paper, chewing her lower lip. Although she did not have a fixed appointment with Elphaba, by now she was sure that she was expecting her nonetheless. On the other hand, she had not seen much of Fiyero of late and had been eagerly waiting for a chance to spend some time with him. She folded the card and stuffed it in her sleeve.

Not even ten minutes later, she arrived at the small wooden bench. The Prince was nowhere to be seen, so she sat down and waited. She did not have to wait long.

She turned when she heard the clip-clopping of hooves and spotted Fiyero, riding on his golden stallion, another horse, a pretty dun stallion, followed on the lead.

"Care for a hack?" he asked with a bright smile.

"Oh, I would," she replied as she stood, her lips pursed in slight disappointment. "But I'm afraid your message was too cryptic. I did not dress for a ride."

"You fine ladies always make everything so complicated," he chided her teasingly. "I really don't see the problem. Come, let me show you how this is done."

He skilfully leaped off his horse and stepped closer to Galinda. With a sharp whistling sound, he called the mount he had brought for her.

"May I?" he asked, his lips widened into a playful grin.

"I, I suppose – Whoops!"

Seizing her by her slender waist, he lifted her with ease and placed her firmly into the saddle. He then began to fiddle and fumble with her skirts, causing Galinda to avert her eyes, her head hot and flushed.

"Done," Fiyero announced at last and she hesitantly turned her head to look, hoping the blush had at least somewhat subsided.

She looked down her legs. The skirt of her dress had been pulled to the side and tied with a short rope. She gave a soft sniff at the thought that the material would be crushed and wrinkled horribly once the ties were removed. Of course, such minor issue could not be allowed to spoil her pleasure and she offered him a shy smile.

"So you think this will do, My Lady?"

Galinda giggled a little embarrassed and nodded.

"What happened to the mare I'd been given the last few times?" she asked as they left the castle grounds. "I thought that we two girls were getting along rather nicely."

"And I thought this mount might be more fun," the Prince laughed.

_'__Fun'_ meant more challenging, but also a realistic chance at beating him as the next race – which she did effortlessly.

When they reached a cliff with a scenic overview over the Thousand Year Grassland, they decided to take a rest and Fiyero produced some snacks from his saddlebags. They ate and chatted and laughed and just before they set off again, the Prince placed a makeshift crown of wildflowers on the top of her golden curls, crowning her winner of their race earlier.

"You know what I've been wondering?" Galinda asked, playing with the ends of the reins while allowing her horse to saunter along.

"Not really, so I hope you're going to tell me, Lin."

"Excuse me if that sounds silly or inappropriate, but how did you escape your father?"

"_'__Escape' _is an excellent word choice, actually. He really has an iron grip on me this time.

"I told him I'd go and spend some time with my sister. That's all I'm allowed to do when he's around, and even that only every couple of days."

Galinda nodded thoughtfully.

"I wasn't under the impression that your parents are too fond of their older daughter."

As soon as she had uttered the words, she regretted them, but Fiyero seemed indifferent.

"Yeah, that's sort of true. However, despite everything, he thinks she has a good influence on me, keeping me straight, focused and grounded, he says."

"I see. Have you told her that you are seeing me instead?"

The Prince choked out a humourless laugh.

"Sweet Lurline, no! She most certainly would disapprove," he added grumbling.

Galinda sighed quietly and let her gaze wander, surveying the beautiful landscape. She almost regretted accepting Fiyero's invitation. No matter how adamantly the green woman insisted that she was perfectly content all by herself, often calling Galinda a _'pretty, little nuisance'_ when she paid her one of her visits, she knew with an absolute certainty that she was very lonely – perhaps the only reason why she still put up with her. In agreeing to spend time with the Prince, she had not only forsaken the Princess her own time, but also robbed her of her brother's attention. The longer she thought on the issue, the guiltier she felt.

* * *

><p>Sometime after nine in the evening, an emerald whirlwind burst through the door to the Princess' room – and it wasn't Elphaba. The petite force of nature, named Galinda, swirled from the door to the side table of Elphaba's bed, placing a small bundle there, then bounced back to the window to retrieve a chair that she positioned near the bed.<p>

The small storm died down when the blonde flopped down on said chair, suddenly sitting perfectly still, big, blue eyes expectantly trained on the raven-haired Princess. The Princess warily stared back at her, her threadbare blanket pulled up to her chest to cover most of her greenness.

"Come on, Elphaba," Galinda said jovially and rolled her eyes. I've seen you when I first came in. It's not like you're naked."

"What are you_ doing_ here?" Elphaba countered with a question. "It's in the middle of the night!"

The blonde giggled.

"It's barely quarter past nine! Besides; I know that you don't sleep before long past midnight."

"I'm not dressed!"

"We're both girls and there is nothing for me to see anyway. That scratchy-looking thing you're wearing is concealing everything just fine."

Elphaba's gaze fell onto her bare arms and she huffed.

"I very much prefer not to flaunt my skin everywhere," she muttered grumpily.

Leaning forward, Galinda gingerly reached for her bare shoulder to stroke it comfortingly, but when she felt how the taller woman flinched beneath the touch, she slowly retracted her hand.

"Hey, it's just me, Elphie."

The pet name had slipped out accidentally and earned her a glare from the Princess, but miraculously, the emerald girl began to relax a little and shifted into a more comfortable position.

"What's this?" she asked curtly, motioning towards the package on her side table.

Galinda perked up.

"I brought you some of the gateau we had for dessert."

"You pilfered that from the table?"

"Don't be silly! They would surely have noticed and I would have died of shame!"

The blonde made a dramatic gesture.

"No, I snuck into the kitchen and asked Nanny to pack one of the leftover pieces for you."

"Also rather risky," Elphaba pointed out and Galinda blushed just a little.

"Yeah, well, it was absolutely delicious and I didn't want you to miss out. And… I wanted to apologise for not coming earlier today. I was… busy."

Elphaba's brow furrowed.

"I told you, I'm fine by myself."

"Are not!" Galinda objected, pouting and crossing her arms. "No matter what you say, I know that you depend on me for company by now."

An incredulous laugh could be heard, followed by an appreciative_ 'mh.'_

"This cake does look good," Elphaba, who had just opened the bundle, admitted.

Galinda's face beamed.

"Now if I only had a spoon or fork…"

Galinda's face fell.

"Oh no! I, I'll fetch you one!" she exclaimed as she jumped up.

Elphaba grabbed her wrist to hold her back, however, the action took the blonde so off guard, that with only the gentlest amount of force, she unintentionally pulled her down on her bed. Galinda's face flushed, Elphaba turned away awkwardly.

"Never mind the cutlery," she mumbled, "I'll just eat it with my fingers."

"Are you sure?" asked Galinda who had recovered relatively quickly.

The green woman nodded mutely.

There was a moment of silence. Perhaps, Elphaba was waiting for her to move off the bed and at one point it had seemed like she was about to say something, but her mouth closed again without producing any sound. Instead, she merely scooted over a few inches. Galinda preferred staying on the bed as long as she was not being shooed away. For one, it was marginally more comfortable than the chair and secondly… secondly… Well, whatever.

Now closer to the side table, Elphaba at least had better access to the cake. She picked up the slice with one hand and used the other to catch any falling crumbs. Galinda watched her eat, glad to see that she enjoyed the treat. When a long, dark tongue licked the remnants of cake and cream off thin, green fingers, she once more felt the heat rising in her face. She was just as scandalised as fascinated by the view and quickly turned away, fanning herself with a book she had found on the floor.

"Hey, this is a very ancient text," Elphaba reproached her lightly and took the fragile object out of her hand.

"It's very stuffy in here," the blonde complained. "I think you should get out of here more often. You need some fresh air."

"Are you sure? The green might only get greener," Elphaba remarked wryly.

Galinda gave the matter some thought and came to the conclusion that it would be worth the risk. Truth be told, she could hardly imagine the Princess' skin getting any more vibrant than it had always been, for it was already a very lush, brilliant emerald.

Taking a clock-tick to think, Galinda leaned against the wall on the other side of the bed, ignorant of the fact that her arm was only a hair's breadth removed form Elphaba's bent legs. Elphaba, on the other hand, did notice and - mostly unsuccessfully - attempted to fold up even further.

The shorter girl perked up when an idea popped into her head and turned her head to smile at Elphaba – again, missing the uncomfortable expression on her face.

"Do you ride? We could take two horses and-"

"I do not condone slavery," Elphaba cut her off sharply, "be it humans, Animals or animals."

Tilting her head, Galinda pursed her lips.

"Horseback riding is about partnership between the rider and their horse. I wouldn't call it sl-"

"If you're going to tell me the same rubbish Fiyero has been trying to sell me for over fifteen years, better don't bother."

The cold tone in the Princess' voice was rather effective and Galinda surrendered. With a tired groan, she slumped back against the wall and already began to ponder on her next suggestion. Elphaba still had a comment or two to get off her chest.

"How would you suggest, horseback riding could be objectively distinguished from slavery in a more conventional sense? This so-called_ 'partnership'_ is based on one party shoving a piece of metal in the other's mouth and imposing their will on them."

"You make it sound really crude and cruel, Elphaba. A good rider uses very fine-tuned, barely noticeable commands."

"Unless the horse disobeys," Elphaba interjected and Galinda gave a wave with her hand.

"Fine. Point taken, we're not going horse riding."

Bothered by her inability to conceive a decent plan to lure the Princess out of her den, Galinda began to nervously tap her index finger against her chin. Her thinking was disrupted as the clock struck ten. The finger stopped and her hand fell into her lap. She turned to look at Elphaba, who in return looked up from the book she had picked up at some point.

"You better go. They will close the doors any second now."

The blonde nodded dejectedly before crawling off the bed and slowly making her way to the door.

Then, with a movement so brisk that Elphaba shrunk back in surprise, she whirled back around and once more hopped onto the bed.

"I know something! We talked about it over dinner; we should go to the carnival that's in town! It will be a lark, believe me."

"And how do I know that you won't simply sell me to the freak show there?" Elphaba questioned, her expression dead serious.

"Miss Elphaba!"

The green woman sighed and looked away.

"Galinda, I don't think that this is my kind of fun."

"Well," the blonde began hesitantly, "then what is?"

"I don't know… A day in my parent's vast library, a walk in the woods-"

"Deal!" Galinda cut her off and scooted a little closer.

"P-pardon me?" the Princess almost stammered.

"First you take me to the carnival and later we take a walk through the woods – it's that easy!"

"When did I agree to that and why in Oz would I ever do that?"

"Because with Fiyero otherwise engaged, I'm your only hope for company and I shall refrain from seeing you until you do agree."

"All hell would break loose if I simply leave the castle, let a lone with you in tow!"

Galinda giggled.

"Oh, I'm sure you have your ways," she said and winked at her.

The green woman brought her hands up to massage her temples.

"Lurline, safe me!" she cried, but relented.

Satisfied with the outcome of their chat, Galinda flounced down the stairs, but found the door locked. Irritated, she returned to Elphaba's room and asked for assistance. At first, the Princess tried to scare her and denied the existence of any alternative passages back to the other side of the castle. When the blonde decided that the small bed in her room could fit two, however, she quickly changed her mind and told her about a passageway through the library in the attic. To Galinda's great dismay, she had to climb all those stairs and find the way entirely by herself, as Elphaba refused to accompany her. But once she was safely tucked in her own bed, the smile returned to the blonde's face in anticipation of their excursion to the carnival.


	6. Chapter Six: Into the Woods

_**AN:**_

_Hey guys!_

_Alright, the time has come and it's back to school for me. I'm not sure how things will work out, but I will still try to upload weekly (every Tuesday NZST, but cut me some slack if I can't stick to that schedule...). Originally, I had hoped that I'd have lots of chaps simply waiting to be posted by now, but my starting early with publishing this story, plus being far less productive during holidays than I had hoped, means that I'm only 2.5 chapters ahead at this point. I'll try to do a bit more work and race ahead with writing before uni starts going crazy, but tbh, it might turn out to be crazy from day one lol_

_Alright, enought blablabla... enjoy the new chapter!_

_Happy reading!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six: Into the Woods<strong>

Galinda rang the gilded bell and her handmaiden came flitting into the room soon after.

"You're going out, My Lady?" she asked with a hint of surprise when she noticed the blonde's attire.

"Only a walk around the castle," Galinda assured her with a sweet smile and slipped on her white gloves.

"I left a letter on the bureau. It is of upmost importance that it reaches the post office by noon."

The letter was addressed to Madame Morrible. Although Galinda's time in the Vinkus was nearly over, she did not feel ready to leave just yet. Once she had made her decision to extend her stay another two weeks, she had penned a notice to inform her governess. She already knew that the stuffy woman would be greatly displeased, but had formulated her words so that there was no room left for argument - after all, she was an adult now and her own person.

"Will that be all, My Lady?"

"Yes, thank you. That will be all."

The maid nodded, took the letter and left. Galinda followed her out of the door a clock-tick later, headed for the small building that was the larder.

Waiting on the shady side of the shed that was facing away from the castle, she leaned against the cool brick. Her heart was pounding in her chest in anticipation of what she and Elphaba were about to do. She mused how leaving the castle must seem such a simple thing to most people, but going out to see the real world without being supervised by a proper chaperone, or in company of a delegation of her court was new to the girl who would soon inherit the Ozian throne and she could feel the thrill of the forbidden release a swarm of butterflies in her belly. Or was it the fact that it was Elphaba she was going with? She blushed at the notion, yet had to sheepishly admit that it might have been at least a combination of both.

She registered movement to her right and a dark, heavily cloaked person detached themselves from the shadows of a group of trees. Galinda knew who she hoped it would be, yet the residue of a perhaps irrational uncertainty caused her breath to quicken and her grip to tighten around her handbag's strap.

Covering the last few paces between them, Elphaba threw back her hood and shook out her long, silky, ink-black hair. Galinda took a deep breath, her hand resting right above her heart.

"You almost scared the life out of me," she gasped and Elphaba cast her a disappointed look.

"Yeah. I had hoped to get out of that stupid deal by quietly disposing of you. Unfortunately, as far as I can see, I wasn't particularly successful."

The blonde swatted her lightly with her fan.

"Your sense of humour requires improvement."

"We can't all be as sweet as you are, my pretty."

Giggling, Galinda nodded.

"Maybe you're right. You know what they say about too much of a good thing."

The green woman chose not to comment.

"Come," she said instead, "this way."

They mostly walked along servant paths, well hidden from the eyes of the noble occupants of the castle. After passing a vegetable garden, the pigsty and the chicken coop, Galinda was confused when she realised that their way, as secret as it might have appeared so far, led them straight to the main gate of the outer wall.

"Elphaba," she hissed, "what are you doing?"

The Princess' brows knitted.

"What do you mean?"

"This is the main gate, silly!"

"Yes? Well, how else do you expect to get out of here?"

"How do I know! But someway more sneaky? A backdoor?"

"Galinda."

Elphaba suddenly stopped to turn around, causing the blonde to bump right into her. Slightly started herself, she took a step backwards to increase the distance between them.

"This castle was built over a thousand years ago as the great stronghold of the Arjiki clan. Do you really think it would still be standing if there was such a thing as a secret backdoor for traitors to lead their allies through?"

"I see," Galinda sighed. "But how do you think we'll get through there?"

"During a besiegement this door is impenetrable. In times of peace you merely have to know the right people."

The two ladies walked up to the two guards at the gate.

"Good morning, Your Highness. My Lady."

"I'd rather you swallowed your tongues for the rest of your shift."

Elphaba tossed each of them a small purse and they nodded mutely.

They walked through the door and a few hundred metres down the road without exchanging too many words. Galinda could see the town below them as the stronghold was situated on a rocky hill. Looking back the short portion of the way they had already covered, she began to wonder how much of the day would be left by the time they would finally reach the carnival and how early they would have to leave in order to return on time for dinner.

She mustn't have worried, however. As she directed her gaze back to the road ahead, she spotted a horse-drawn carriage on its way up. She was somewhat puzzled at first when she noticed that the bay horse wasn't wearing a bridle and that there was no driver controlling the tiny chaise. But everything began to make sense, when Elphaba hailed the cap.

"Good morning, Juffa. Thank you for helping out on such a short notice."

"Don't mention it, My Lady," the Horse replied politely.

"Do you need help?" Elphaba asked Galinda and she nodded distractedly.

"Yes, please. If you don't mind."

So the green woman offered her hand as usually a gentleman would and the blonde climbed in, giggling slightly flustered. Elphaba hopped in right after her, and Juffa set into motion, turning the carriage around and trotting downhill.

"Is this outfit really necessary?" Galinda asked a few minutes later to break the silence. She picked up a corner of the thick, rough fabric with the tips of her fingers and inspected it with distaste. "It looks dreadfully warm"

"I don't have much of a choice," Elphaba replied somewhat grumpily. "Perhaps that's one of the reasons why I don't go out all that often."

"Well, thank you for indulging me."

Despite Galinda's genuine gratitude, the Princess released an irritable huff and crossed her arms.

"Don't thank me – it's not like I'm coming along entirely voluntarily."

"So?" Galinda asked playfully. "Who was it that forced you then?"

"You."

"And how is that?"

"I don't know. There is something about you. Something that makes it extremely difficult to deny you anything."

A bright smile appeared on the shorter woman's face and she inched a little closer to her friend, until their arms met.

"I choose to take this as a compliment."

"And I choose to repudiate that it was meant as such."

Galinda grabbed the green girl's arm and clung to it tightly, leaning her head against an angular, bony shoulder.

"Of course you do, you old sourpuss."

Drawing a sharp breath, Elphaba averted her gaze to look out of the window.

"My Ladies? We have arrived," the Horse announced about twenty minutes later.

"Thank Lurline," Elphaba mumbled under her breath and detangled herself from Galina to disembark.

The blonde stayed behind, tilting her head and casting her companion a pleading look.

"Help?"

"I'm sure you can do this by yourself, sweet girl."

The girl in the carriage pursed her lips in disdain. She watched Elphaba tipping Juffa into a small cup attached to his harness and walk off.

"Hey, wait, you mean, green thing!" she called after her and rather inelegantly scrambled off the seat, thanking the Horse in passing as she hurried to catch up to Elphaba.

"That was rude!" she complained once she had reached her and briskly hooked her arm through Elphaba's. "Care to show off your good breeding a bit more, Miss Elphaba?"

The Princess briefly inspected their linked arms with a hint of disbelief on her face, then moved on despite her obvious discomfort.

"I told you, I was raised by a kitchen maid. How much good breeding do you expect?" she responded.

Galinda flicked her a quick, sad look and said nothing.

To arouse less suspicion, Juffa had dropped them off a few streets away from the carnival and not right at the fairground, but they could already hear the noisy cacophony of various sources of music and people laughing, shouting and fighting.

As soon as they turned around the next corner, they saw the back of some trailers and caravans, laundry lines spanned between them and goats and pigs in cages or staked nearby. A group of men in women's clothing, wearing plenty of jewellery and horribly overdone makeup, sauntered past and waved and blew kisses at them. The blonde had to admit that she was slightly scared and clutched Elphaba's arm a tad tighter.

They finally reached the entrance to the fairground and each of the girls tossed a coin into the gypsy woman's tin, receiving a ticked in return.

The carnival was well attended, families with children and young lovers making up the largest share of visitors. There were several fun rides, such as a flying swing, a merry-go-round and even a small Ferris wheel. Galinda wished she could try each and every one of them, since she had never had the chance when she had still been a child. But alas, it would be highly unbecoming for a fine, young lady to swing through the sky like a monkey or to go on a spin on one of the colourfully painted animals. To her great regret, even the Ferris wheel was geared more towards younger patronage and so she was forced to remain with both legs firmly on the ground.

"It's nearly lunch time," Elphaba pointed out. "Perhaps we should purchase something to eat."

Galinda agreed eagerly and got herself some candyfloss, which – according to her green companion at least – could hardly count as proper food. Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Elphaba went to buy two flatbreads, topped with sour cream, cheese and onions, which she generously shared with the blonde.

Next, they had a stroll among the market stands, feasting their eyes on all sorts of trinkets and jewels and rummage.

"Oh look, isn't this just beautiful?" Galinda enthused as she picked up a richly decorated mirror.

"I doubt that this is real silver," Elphaba said with disinterest.

"I don't mind. I like it anyway."

The blonde took out her purse and paid the delighted merchant at least five times the amount the item was worth and slipped the mirror into her handbag. She was not very familiar with the concept of bargaining.

About an hour later, she had bought herself two necklaces and three bracelets and for Elphaba, a small statuette of a green Vinkun bird.

"You literally throw your money around," Elphaba remarked drily when Galinda accidentally dropped her purse while fiddling with her shopping bags and a few shimmering coins tumbled out.

"I never get to spend it otherwise."

Galinda bent down carefully to reach for her coins, but pulled back quickly when a mighty hoof touched the ground no more than one inch before her. Elphaba caught her and helped her to her feet. The hoof belonged to a strange creature on four stilts; a spirit creature of some kind, furry looking, yet also overgrown with moss and pieces of bark covering the legs. There were six of them: five wore white masks, the sixth an elephant skull with long, imposing tusks.

"Sweet Oz, I think those will give me nightmares later," the blonde murmured and Elphaba cackled softly.

Once the creatures had passed, she swiftly stooped down, gathered the coins and passed them back to the shorter girl.

"Be more careful with those. If you really only want to get rid of them, make at least sure you loose them right as you pass some poor soul who might need them more than you do."

"Elphaba?" Galinda then questioned worriedly. "Where is everyone?"

The two girls looked around and noticed that the number of people around them had diminished considerably. Even Elphaba seemed at a loss for a moment.

But then, from further away, they could her the noise of many hooves and the excited neighing of horses.

"The rider less races," Elphaba realised.

Galinda's eyes lit up.

"Oh, can we go and see? Please? Please?"

The Princess was not particularly keen, but the petite blonde had enough enthusiasm for the both of them and so they went. She inspected the prancing stallions that were being paraded up and down the street and bet on a silver horse with the number thirteen embroidered on its harness, earning herself another frustrated sigh from Elphaba.

The participants were lined up at the start and let loose at the shot of a rifle. The animals galloped along the fenced off streets and alleys, until they reached the finishing line about ten minutes later. Galinda's horse won and she tripled her stake. She couldn't help but show her emerald friend a wide triumphant grin.

Before the crowd of spectators returned to the fairground, the bookmaker called for everyone's attention. A woman in a pale yellow, sparkling costume, riding on a pure white horse emerged from one of the side streets. The stallion began a piaffe, performing almost dancelike steps without moving forward.

"Come one, come all!" The bookmaker announced. "Come tonight and witness the greatest show in Oz: The Balloon Horse Stardust and his sensational ascension act with gorgeous pyrotechnic display!"

Galinda seemed entranced by the animal's graceful movements and the woman's glittering, dazzling dress.

"Fireworks! Did you hear that, Elphaba? Fireworks!" she gushed, her dreamy eyes still fixated on the beautiful pair of rider and horse.

"Galinda, we can't even stay that long. Besides, I bet he's actually a Horse. Nothing to it."

"But the fireworks!"

Elphaba snorted and began to gently pull her away.

"You can watch the pyrotechnics from the window in your room at the castle. It's facing the right direction. I think it's time for us to leave now."

They walked back to the fairground to find themselves a cab. Before they could make it to the cab stand, however, Galinda began to tug and jerk on the green woman's arm, dragging her over to a curious looking tick-tock thing that somewhat resembled a clockwork.

A dwarf, fairly ugly, Galinda had to admit, jumped forth from behind the contraption and immediately captured the attention of numerous bystanders. When he began to speak, they moved closer, almost like in trance, and flopped down on the ground before the wagon the thing was mounted upon.

"Welcome to our little show. Welcome and witness the wonders of the _Clock of the Time Dragon_."

A thundering noise sounded in the background and the clock's mechanics sprang to life. The black velvet curtain was drawn and the odd apparatus turned out to be some strange version of a puppet theatre. Music started to play and a puppet with yellow hair and a pretty, blue dress appeared. Soon, the puppet was joined by a second one of darker complexion and hair; a male it seemed like. They danced and played catch, until a third puppet emerged from behind a few paper trees. She was green and her hair was black.

Galinda clapped gleefully and laughed.

"Elphie, that one looks like you!"

Elphaba clenched her teeth and exhaled noisily through her nostrils.

"Let's go," she whispered urgently. "I don't like this show."

"But Elphie, isn't this droll?"

"No."

The tall, green woman stood and yanked the smaller blonde to her feet as well.

"We're leaving," she declared in a firm and determined tone of voice and turned on her heel, Galinda still in tow.

She hailed a cab for the two of them and ushered Galinda inside before climbing in herself. The shorter woman wrapped her arms around her slender waist and sullenly stared out of the window, not speaking a word with Elphaba.

* * *

><p>Galinda furrowed her brows and leaned out of the window to see better.<p>

"What's this? Are we going back to the castle already?"

"That's the plan," Elphaba replied evenly.

"But… but… but we haven't had our walk in the wood yet!"

"You didn't seem very much in the mood for that."

"Well, I am a little annoyed with you, Miss Elphaba," the blonde pouted. "But I still intend to hold up my end of the bargain."

The green woman sighed.

"You don't need to. I believe it's better we just return home."

"No, but I insist!"

Clearing her voice, Galinda addressed the cabbie.

"Sir? Please stop the carriage, my friend and I will get off here."

"Galinda, please don't be ridiculous," Elphaba hissed, but the blonde had already hopped out of the cab and tipped the driver.

"Are you coming?" she called over her shoulder and plodded ahead over a meadow of knee-high, dry grass, headed for a small forest she could see in the distance.

Cursing, the Princess followed.

"What in Oz do you think you're doing, you little idiot? You can't simply walk criss-cross across the country and then disappear in some unmapped corner of the forest."

Galinda ignored her and marched on. Resigned, Elphaba followed her within a distance of a few paces.

Halfway before they reached the wood, Galinda stumbled and had a little rant. Every few steps, one of her heels would get stuck in the soft soil and this time one of them had broken off.

"Told you so," Elphaba admonished her as she caught up to her, but Galinda continued to ignore her and took off her shoes and her stockings, leaving them behind.

When they arrived at the treeline, they found that only a few hundred yards further west lay a path, coming out of the forest and leading back to the town. Galinda led the way and once they had reached the road, they followed it in the opposite direction, diving into the twilight of the sea of fresh green.

Eventually, the entrance to the tunnel of trees disappeared behind them and they were surrounded by nothing but foliage and the sounds of nature. They had barely walked half a mile, when Galinda came to an abrupt halt.

"Oh, Elphaba, listen. Isn't this beautiful?"

The green woman did as she was told.

The sound Galinda was referring to was the song of a rare Vinkun bird. Its light, jubilant chirping and twittering carried far across the canopy of leaves, making it almost impossible to tell where the tiny creature was sitting.

"I wish I could tell you which bird this call belongs to, but I must admit that's where books come up short," Elphaba confessed regretfully and Galinda snickered, looping her arm through Elphaba's again, as she had already done fairly often during the course of that day. The taller woman seemed to have grown somewhat accustomed to the constant body contact and barely batted an eyelash.

"Now that's a first," Galinda said, amused.

"I can promise you though that if we were able to catch a glance at that bird, I would easily be able to identify it."

"Oh, I know! Maybe it's the one I bought for you at the carnival!"

"Hardly. That one is called a crested steppe titmouse and is endemic to the Hundred Year Grasslands."

"Insufferable wiseacre," Galinda grumbled and playfully nudged Elphaba's side.

They continued on their path, walking mostly in silence so they could listen and enjoy the many songs the birds and insects were humming for them. At some point, it occurred to Galinda that Elphaba would not need her long garments while they were all by themselves. Elphaba hesitated, but did shed her top layer in the end, henceforth carrying it folded over her free arm.

"Elphaba," Galinda said later and slowed down her steps.

The Princess furrowed her brow in mild concern.

"Yes, what is it?"

"I…" Galinda removed her arm from Elphaba's and began to fumble with her handbag.

"Yes?"

"I…"

She took a mighty breath.

"Never mind."

As the blonde looked away, her cheeks flushed and the raven-haired woman grew more and more apprehensive.

"You can tell me, Galinda. Surely, it can't be that bad. "

Galinda worried her lip.

"Elphaba, I'm… afraid I need to use the facilities."

The green woman looked at her blankly.

"Um… sure. Just… disappear into the bushes somewhere and do what you have to do. I'll be waiting here for you."

"Elphie!" Galinda exclaimed, shocked.

"Well, what else do you propose? I doubt they have erected any privies around here. This is not a public park, you know?"

The blonde's expression turned into one of pain and despair.

"I could come with you," Elphaba offered.

Galinda stared at her with big eyes, not sure how to react, for the plain look on the Princess' face made it impossible for her to distinguish whether she had been serious or jesting.

"Come on, you delicate flower; hurry and join your peers at the side of the road and sprinkle them with some welcome water."

Galinda's eyes widened even further and her head turned bright red. Not least because she could no longer stand facing Elphaba in her embarrassment, she, at last, fled into the bushes to do her business, hearing the green woman's weird cackling laughter fading away behind her.

It took a while until she had figured out a way to keep her luxurious skirt and all the many underskirts and petticoats, as well as her bloomers out of the way and clean, but once she had found the desperately anticipated relief, she felt like a new woman. She took another couple of minutes to organise and smooth out the layers of ruffles and silk, then she was finally ready to set forth on her return journey. She wasn't looking forward to seeing Elphaba's smug grin, however, she didn't have much of a choice, did she?

As she turned around, her vision blurred a little at so much overwhelming greenness. Now she only needed to remember which way she had come from – and goodness knew, she was so bad with directions. She lightly berated herself for not thinking of this minute problem earlier. But ultimately, it had been Elphaba's fault for cajoling her into diving into the bushes with such precipitation. She thought that one of the flowery bushes to her right looked vaguely familiar and thus decided to choose this course.

About two minutes later, she began to doubt the accuracy of her memory and released a frustrated sigh.

"Elphaba?" she called, quite sure that she could not have wandered too far from the road for the other woman to hear her. "Elphaba!"

She could hear the drumming of her own heart loud and clear. Five heartbeats more and she tried anew.

"Elphaaaaabaaaaa!"

Another heartbeat passed.

"Galinda?"

The voice that was calling out her name was rather faint, yet still easy enough to follow. Galinda's heart leaped for joy and relief and she gathered her skirt so she could move through the thicket more quickly.

"Elphaba," she called as she rushed towards the direction the voice had come from, "I'm coming! Stay where you are!"

"Fine!" the voice answered back, already a notch louder.

Another few yards and she found her way blocked by a tree. With an irritated huff, she turned left to walk around the stupid thing, but when she suddenly looked straight into big, amber eyes, she let out a small squeal. She stumbled backwards and fell on her behind.

The animal came closer, watching her warily and carefully placing one paw in front of the other. It was a fairly large beast with grey-brown, shaggy fur and a long tail. Its ears were marked from fights, the tips on both sides missing. Although she had never seen one in real life, Galinda was sure that she was staring at a wolf.

"Elphie, help," she whimpered uselessly and scrambled backwards. One of her ribbons got caught in the undergrowth and wouldn't allow her to move any further.

She yanked and tugged at the wretched thing, until the small, thorny branch broke off, now dangling at the side of her dress. Grasping for the stem of a young sapling, the blonde pulled herself up. The animal was still standing where she had last seen it, its eyes following her movements with keen interest. Out of the corners of her own eyes, she spotted a mostly clear escape path. She slowly counted from three to one, then made a dart for said path, running faster than she had ever run, despite the roots, stones and brambles in her way.

She didn't get far before the beast had caught up to her, moved past her with one huge jump and blocked her way.

Scared for her life and trembling, Galinda clung to a nearby tree and began to cry.

"Elphie!" she shouted out, with scarcely any hope to actually be heard by anybody at all.

The dry leaves rustled under the large canine's clawed paws as it drew closer. When it was within Galinda's reach, it paused, but began to growl, its ears flat on its head and its tail straight and tense. Galinda took a wobbly step to the right and the animal adjusted its position as to cut off her intended path. She moved back to where she had stood just before and the wolf followed her. She moved backwards and the creature moved forwards. It was herding her like a sheep.

She realised she couldn't run, for with its long legs and adapted to this sort of environment, the animal would always be faster and more agile than her – and sweet Lurline, she wasn't even wearing shoes! She had no idea how this would end, however, for the time being, she decided to give in and do what the beast seemed to want her to. Keeping up at least a tiny shimmer of hope, she called out Elphie's name several more times, but to no apparent avail.

As the animal drove her deeper and deeper into the wood, she felt the exhaustion settling in and soon she began to stumble with every second or third step. When she tripped over a root and landed flat on her stomach, dry leaves got caught in her golden curls and dirt marking her otherwise perfectly white cheeks, hands and knees, she began to weep and refused to get back up. With a soft growl, the animal sat down beside her and watched her, but did not insist she move forward.

After a while, she could tell that the beast was growing agitated as it began to whimper and snarl. Finally, it stood up and began to tug on Galinda's dress. Galinda was too tired and despaired to take much note anymore.

Suddenly, the wolf yelped and whimpered in pain and the blonde looked up, nearly as shocked as the animal. She could see something flying towards them, but whatever it was, landed in a nearby bush. There; another one of those things, a stone, she now recognised. This one hit its target and it hit it hard, right on the sensitive nose. Another pitiful yelp. And another one.

The beast began to beg off, retreating into the thicker bushes. Out of the bushes on the opposite side strode Elphaba, swiftly rushing to Galinda's side.

"Are you all right? Did it bite you?" she asked, rather breathless.

Galinda mutely shook her head.

In the back of her head a small voice told her to squeal and jump and hug her green saviour, but despite the relief she felt, her body was too tired and numb.

The creature once more emerged from its hideout and snarled at the two girls, but Elphaba had another stone ready and chased it away.

She wrapped an arm around Galinda and helped her up.

"You can walk, I hope?"

The blonde had stepped on some thorn or splinter along the way, but it wasn't too bad, so she nodded.

"Let's go then."

They began to walk, straight in one direction the entire time. Galinda looked back frequently, worried that the wolf would reappear. There was no sign of it.

By the time that Elphaba stopped they had covered quite a distance, it seemed to Galinda, however, there was still no road in sight. She also wasn't sure whether she was merely growing more and more tired, but it appeared as though it was getting a little darker.

She watched Elphaba as she began to busy herself picking up long sticks that were lying on the ground.

"What are you doing, Elphie?" she asked anxiously.

"Building a hut," the green woman replied curtly.

"W-why would we need a hut?"

Of course, she already knew the answer, yet she still somehow hoped that she was wrong.

When Elphaba didn't reply, she briefly chewed the insides of her cheeks, before asking in a small, timid voice, "Are we lost?"

"No," Elphaba answered, somewhat to her surprise. "That is, I don't know where the road is, but I do know in which direction the castle is."

"Really?" Galinda's face lit up. "How?"

"Do you see the moss on the trees?"

"Um… yes."

But there was moss literally everywhere.

"Don't look at the areas too close to the ground; look higher. The moss up there grows on the same side on almost all of these trees. That's where north is."

"Oh."

Galinda had to admit that it might be indeed helpful every now and then to have such an over-studious companion.

"Unfortunately, it's getting dark and if we don't want to risk running into more dangerous creatures than this little lapdog of yours, or break a leg or something, we better lie low for the night. There, done. Are you coming?"

Elphaba had completed the small structure made of branches and leaves and carefully crawled inside.

Galinda watched her and suddenly began to cry again.

"E-Elphie," she sobbed, "I-I'm so s-sorry. I… it's just… after I was done and all, I g-got lost a-a ittle and then, and then…"

Elphaba heaved a weary sigh.

"It's fine Galinda. Now come. Maybe we can try and sleep. Tomorrow we'll find our way back."

"Elphie, I'm so, so sorry."

"Galinda."

"No, r-really! S-so s-sorry," Galinda hiccupped.

A frustrated cry shrilled from the inside of the hut and a clock-tick later, Elphaba came crawling out again.

"For Oz's sake, Galinda! Is whining and apologising all you can do? It won't change anything."

She unceremoniously wrapped her thick, warm mantle around Galinda's shoulders, pulled her to her feet and nudged and shoved her into the direction of the hut.

"In. Now," she commanded and the blonde went down on her knees to crawl inside. "Good girl."

Elphaba also kneeled and shuffled in backwards, trying to find enough space for herself - which wasn't too difficult, thanks to her scrawny frame.

As it turned out, they had made it just on time. Dusk passed quickly and soon it was completely dark.

Elphaba didn't say another word to Galinda, and when the blonde tried to listen to her breathing, it almost sounded like she was already asleep. Galinda allowed herself to gape, since nobody would see her in the dark. That green thing was absolutely unbelievable! How could she simply fall asleep like that, in the middle of the wilderness?

Heaving one of the heaviest sighs in her entire life, she shifted and twisted around a little, until she was lying on her back. The canopy of trees was quite thick, yet there were a few patches through which the bright stars of the Vinkus were visible. Another tear ran down Galinda's cheek. She was glad she wasn't alone, that Elphaba was with her, but she was still scared, especially after that terrifying encounter with the wolf.

A noise like thunder struck in the distance and Galinda jerked. Another, similar, yet not identical noise followed. The next few sounded much more like gunshots and then it dawned on her that this must be pyrotechnic display from the carnival. She closed her eyes and listened, wishing she was in her room back at the castle, watching the fireworks from her window as Elphaba had suggested.

The noise subsided after twenty long minutes and she decided that it would be best to try and sleep like her green friend next to her.

The ground was hard and whichever way she turned, some stone, root, or twig always poked her in the side, her shoulder, or her bottom. It was also cold -surprisingly so, given that it was still midsummer. Galinda shivered a little and rubbed her arms to gain some warmth.

Rather unexpectedly, a long arm wrapped around her and pulled her close. Galinda's eyes widened and she turned her head to face Elphaba, whose eyes were still closed.

"Elphie?" she whispered very quietly, wondering whether the Princess was aware of her actions.

"You're cold, my sweet," a soft, smooth voice she had never heard from Elphaba replied.

"Yes. I guess… A little bit."

She could see Elphaba's lips curl up and felt her hand move up and down her back.

"Better?"

"Hmmm. Thank you."

Encouraged by the fact that it had been the green woman herself who had initiated the contact, the blonde scooted even closer, curling into Elphaba's embrace. For warmth, she told herself and would tell Elphaba if she were to ask. But she didn't and so both women fell asleep arm in arm.

* * *

><p>When Galinda first stirred, she found herself still tightly wrapped in Elphaba's mantle; Elphaba herself, however, was gone. She jolted up and hit her head on the branches that made up the hut. Some of the sticks and leaves dropped to the ground and she quickly scrambled out not to be buried underneath the makeshift construction.<p>

When she looked around, she found Elphaba nearby. She walked over to her and gently rested a hand on the taller woman's shoulder.

"Hey," she said shyly.

"Hey," echoed Elphaba and turned around, smiling faintly at the blonde. "Care for breakfast?"

She offered Galinda a hand full of berries.

"You're definitely sure those are edible?"

"Of course," Elphaba chuckled.

Galinda picked one of the blue berries and popped it into her mouth.

"Sweet."

And then they heard them; voices. Voices calling both of their names.

The two girls froze on the spot. They both knew that being rescued meant being in trouble, but Elphaba was far better at hiding her unease. She took a brief moment to stare at the ground, then looked back at Galinda and offered her arm.

"Shall we?"

Galinda bit her lip and threw herself at Elphaba's arm.

"No worries, my sweet. You'll be fine."

* * *

><p>As it turned out, the Princess had been right.<p>

Once the search party had found them, Galinda and Elphaba were separated and ushered into different carriages that brought them back to the castle. The Queen greeted Galinda, obviously relieved. Naturally, she was displeased with her guest's unhealthy appetite for adventure, yet she did not find it necessary to be overly hard on her. She merely told her to return to her chambers and be ready by lunch, as usual. That was all.

Back in her room, Galinda called for her handmaiden and ordered her to prepare a hot bath. The young woman seemed a little awkward around Galinda. Most likely she already knew what had happened.

Ready by lunch, as ordered, Galinda left her quarters and headed for the lunchroom. On her way, she inevitably passed the King's office and heard a booming voice that even penetrated the heavy doors.

_"__I do not know what has gotten into you, girl, but such behaviour is absolutely unacceptable. Look at me when I'm talking to you! I have allowed you every freedom and provided for you. Is that how you thank me?"_

Galinda held her breath. Without a doubt, it was Elphaba who was being scolded and yelled at by her father. She inched slightly closer, undecided whether to be so audacious as to eavesdrop.

_"… __I will not allow you corrupting this young Lady with your wicked, your… your _sinful_ spirit. You will not consort with her again, do you understand?_

_"__Do you understand?"_

"Galinda? Are you all right?"

Concerned, Fiyero touched the girl's arm and startled her so much she almost slapped him.

"Oh, It's you… I'm sorry, Fiyero."

"It's fine," he laughed. "You're on your way to lunch?"

"Um yes," she answered distractedly.

"Good for you. I have yet another appointment with my father."

"Oh. I wouldn't go in there right now if I were you."

The Prince arched an eyebrow and stood quiet for a moment, listening.

"Did he shout at you, as well?" he then wanted to know and the blonde shook her head.

"No. I just happened to pass by."

"I see. Well, you better hurry along. I'll see if I can talk to Elphaba later."

Galinda inclined her head slightly, then slowly turned her back to the door and continued on her way to the lunchroom, her arms tightly wrapped around her tiny frame.


	7. Chapter Seven: A Manner of Reconciliatio

_**AN:**_

_Alright... Um well... two things:_

_1st is concerning this chapter:_

_I'm not really happy with it, I must admit. That is, the general outline of the things happening in this chapter is actually the way I wanted it, but the way I wrote everything is... Hell, I don't even know! As all of the chapters for this story so far, this chap has undergone several proofreading sessions and some editing, but I just can't seem to get it right! Maybe it would be better if I were to write it from scratch, using the same basic ideas, but I'm not sure if I have the time, muse, or mood for that! So I apologise and hope it's only half as bad as I fear it is. If you have any specific ideas how to change certain passages, or dialogues, or whatever, comments would be greatly appreciated! (As are reviews of any kind, of course - if you genuinely thought that this chap was actually OK, you're also very welcome to tell me that lol)_

_2nd is concerning this fic as a whole:_

_I underestimated its length, I think. I'm now estimating about 20 chaps (up from ca 16ish) - given the high word count per chapter, it will be approximately as long as ALTR, so between 90-100k. Yay me! xD This is partly due to a major change to a later scene - which is particularly funny and makes me feel really weird about it, because that was the first scene I came up with, the ONE scene the entire idea came from! And now it's almost gone and greatly transformed... for the better, I desperately hope! _

_Anywho... this AN is already way to loong, so let's get reading!_

_Happy reading my pretties!_

_xoxo MLE :3_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven: A Manner of Reconciliation<strong>

It took her two days to finally bring herself to go and visit Elphaba again – primarily because she was worried to cause her even more trouble, but also because she feared the emerald woman's wrath. She hated herself for what had happened and contemplated whether it might indeed be better if she were to adhere to the King's ruling and, going forward, keep her distance.

Nevertheless, in the end she decided that the consequences would perhaps be far more detrimental if she were to abandon poor Elphaba now of all times. Feeling rather relieved when she finally arrived at this conclusion, she released a high-pitched squeal, which she unsuccessfully tried to muffle with one of the sofa cushions. This epiphany was far more reasonable than the previous idea she had considered: that it was in fact _her_ who no longer wanted to be without the odd, green thing's company.

It was already dark outside when she stood in front of Elphaba's door, clutching a small basket to her chest. Her nerves were completely frayed and she desperately hoped that the Princess wouldn't eat her alive. Hesitantly, she knocked.

"Elphie?"

She bit her lip and cleared her throat to try once more – this time remembering to call her by her full given name.

"Elphaba?"

There was no answer; no _'come in,'_ no mumbled _'yes,'_ not even an angry _'go away.'_ Instead, she could only hear quiet shuffling and rustling. Then, the door opened and Elphaba suddenly stood right before her, smiling faintly. This was certainly a first and not at all what she had pictured in her head would happen.

"Hey," the tall woman said quietly.

"Hey," Galinda echoed, her gaze downcast in guilt that seemed to have increased hundredfold at Elphaba's apparent lack of resentment. "I-I brought you something."

Shyly, her eyes flicked up briefly as her arms jutted forward, pushing the basket towards Elphaba. Somewhat puzzled, the Princess slowly took the small hamper off her and green hands, ever so lightly, brushed against pale pink ones, leaving Galinda with a strange, tingling sensation in her fingertips. While this was not the first time that Elphaba had made her feel that way, she was still confused. Merely a few days ago, she had been much closer to her and not felt quite as much on edge. It was the tension, she told herself; being so anxious, it was only natural that her body would react stronger than usual.

"Don't you want to come in?"

The blonde gave a timid nod and followed the Princess to the bed where her chair still stood. At some point, Elphaba had simply given up on pushing it back to its proper place after each of her visits, and seeing that this had still not changed made the corners of Galinda's lips curl upwards a little.

Elphaba sat down on her bed, lifting the lid of the basked to inspect the goods inside, and Galinda sat down on her usual spot. She experienced a slight sense of alleviation, feeling as though the greatest hurdle had been taken.

"Thanks for those," the green woman said as she took a bite of a sugar-glazed cruller. "Even though I don't know what exactly the occasion is."

"You're welcome," Galinda mumbled, turning the ring on her right middle finger and chewing the insides of her cheeks as she was wont to do whenever she felt ill at ease.

"Elphaba, I was wondering if-"

"I'm not allowed to leave my room," the Princess cut in before the blonde even had had a chance to ask her question.

"Nor are you supposed to speak to me."

Galinda offered the Princess a fleeting, bashful smile.

"But you don't strike me as a woman who obeys such ludicrous rules."

Pursing her lips in what seemed deep contemplation, Elphaba stared at the selection of treats left in the basket, before choosing to eat a fruit tart next. She did not reply, however, which somehow worried Galinda more than she could rationally justify.

She watched her friend for a short while longer, then the dam within her broke.

"I'm sorry," she suddenly blurted out, covering her mouth with her hand as she blinked furiously to keep the tears that were pricking at the corners of her eyes from falling. "This is all my fault. It was I who insisted we go to the carnival, and it was I who insisted we go and have that walk in the woods. And then it was I who got lost. I wish I knew a way to set things right, but who am I fooling? There is really nothing I could possibly do!"

The Princess stopped chewing and fixated her deep, brown eyes on the petite girl sitting opposite her.

"Galinda, breathe," she said evenly. "I already told you to stop apologising."

"I know," Galinda hiccupped in a squeaky voice, still fighting those ridiculous tears. "I know, but-"

"No _'buts'_!"

The shorter girl dipped her head and took a deep, shuddering breath.

They sat in silence for a few clock-ticks while Elphaba finished her pastries and Galinda busied herself picking some invisible lint from her pink lace dress. Once she had calmed sufficiently, the blonde's eyes flickered up briefly as she licked her dry lips.

"Do you… do you play an instrument?" asked out of the blue, an idea slowly forming in her head.

"Huh?"

Elphaba looked up from the book she had produced from Oz knows where beneath her bed, and despite herself, Galinda almost had to giggle. Now that she thought about it, she should have been surprised that Elphaba had not brought any reading materials with her when they had headed out for the carnival.

"Um… no," the Princess answered after distractedly fumbling with the string that was attached to her book. "But I used to sing. Fiyero would play the piano and I would sing. That was back then when I was younger and still allowed into the main building of the castle. Only when father and mother weren't entertaining guests, of course."

A fleeting smile crossed her lips before she lowered her gaze again to focus on the book in her lap.

Wondering whether it would be wise to continue this conversation, Galinda temporarily resigned to simply watching her friend. She didn't intend to drag up old memories if they were too painful, yet…

"Would you like to sing tonight?"

"Not particularly."

Nervously tucking a strand behind her left - her _good_ - ear, Galinda pressed on, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I would love to hear it though."

Her eyes were once more trained on her dress, this time searching for any loose threads. She could not see the conflicted expression flashing over Elphaba's face. She did hear a shallow sigh, however.

"I haven't sung in years, you know?"

"What if we go down to the fireplace room and I play for you?"

"Is that another one of your potentially calamitous deals?" Elphaba asked and Galinda looked up with a mixture of lingering shame and fresh boldness.

"Oh, I wouldn't hope so. Granted, we'll have to be a little sneaky… but I doubt that we'd need a rescue party this time."

Elphaba laughed and the shorter woman began to grow more and more confident.

"That's a yes, isn't it?"

"Fine," the Princess relented at last and Galinda's face lit up.

* * *

><p>Upon arriving in the fireplace room, Elphaba took care of the fire, while Galinda flipped through the stacks of books and loose sheet music in the chest next to the liquor cabinet, searching for something singable. Most of the numbers she knew by heart were purely instrumental pieces. She jumped when a slender, green hand came up behind her and picked one of the sheets she was holding. After doing her best to calm her fluster, she pivoted around to face the Elphaba.<p>

"This one will do for a start."

The Vinkun scanned the sheet music once again, then handed it back to Galinda, who agreed mutely.

The blonde read the first few lines on her way to the piano. She didn't know this song, but it looked quite promising, and most likely easier to play than to sing. Taking a minute to study the score properly and take mental notes of any parts that might be difficult, she sat on the piano chair, absently twisting a strand of golden curls around one of her fingers.

"Do you want to come over here so you can read?" she asked Elphaba when she was done and ready to play.

The raven-haired woman shook her head.

"I still know the words and I can't read music. I'll just move around while I sing. Anything else would make me feel uncomfortable."

Galinda raised her eyebrows. This was not how she and her peers had been taught. Then again, this was Elphaba and she wasn't exactly your ordinary young lady from finishing school.

"All right."

Fingers lightly placed on the first few keys, she began to play. It was a sad tune, but beautiful and elegant, and she had to admit that it sounded so much nicer even than what she had imagined reading the score. The instrumental part in the beginning was rather long though, and she found herself quite annoyed, keenly waiting to finally hear Elphaba's singing voice.

She could not for the life of her tell why she was so excited about this. Maybe it was because she hoped to learn something new about Elphaba. To her at least, music had always been something very personal and intimate, which also was part of the reason why she had been so worried about playing in front of an audience without knowing for sure that she was still in tune with her own music within.

Her eyes briefly skimmed the sheet for the first few words and she inwardly sighed; she was only half way through the instrumental. She played a few more bars and then held her breath at the point that she knew Elphaba would finally begin to sing.

The song was in Vinkun, so she didn't understand the words, yet thanks to the music and to Elphaba's heartfelt interpretation, she could clearly feel their meaning. And Elphaba's voice? Elphaba's voice was clear and smooth, if a little soft - due to the lack of practice, she supposed, or maybe because the emerald Princess was simply being shy singing for Galinda. Her singing voice was higher than her speaking voice and less harsh, which confused her. She hadn't thought it possible for the difference between them to be this great.

As she continued playing, she could feel the Princess move through the room behind her. Sometimes, she detected her presence further to her right, a clock-tick later, she knew that she had drifted somewhere to her left. She never wandered into her field of vision, however, which left the blonde slightly frustrated.

They had arrived at the final bars. The music slowed down a notch and the register changed. When Elphaba was forced to change to head voice, her voice broke and she stopped singing. Galinda played the last few notes as if nothing had happened and finished the song. After the last chord had faded away, she turned around. Elphaba was standing with her back to her, looking at the fire.

"I haven't sung in years."

The tall woman's voice sounded almost apologetic.

"It was really good," Galinda assured her and the green woman shrugged.

"You sound quite different when you sing."

"It's my Vinkun more than my singing," Elphaba explained.

"Oh. I see."

That sort of made sense. Galinda didn't speak any foreign languages well enough to notice any differences in her own voice, but she had noticed them before when other people switched dialects. Which reminded her:

"I hope my question won't offend, but did I detect an accent there?"

"Most Vinkuns of higher birth would be rather flattered than offended. The upper class, and by extension the people in the bigger cities, such as Kiamo Ko and Kvon Altar prefer to speak common Ozian. I myself speak Vinkun only broken. Which is not due to a want of interest, I would like to stress. I would certainly prefer to speak to my people – well, my parents' people – in their native tongue. But father always made sure that no Vinkun literature could be found in my library."

Galinda furrowed her brow.

"But you are allowed to sing Vinkun songs?"

"The melodies of the Vinkus are considered a national treasure. The original lyrics are often being substituted with Ozian translations. I only used to sing in Vinkun when it was just Yero and I. One time, a maid caught us and father had me beat by Nanny."

Galinda's eyes went wide, but Elphaba smiled fondly.

"The old fool faked it and was found out. As a result, her allowance was cut in half and father did the chore himself."

Elphaba sat down, getting more or less comfortable on the pillows piled up in front of the fireplace.

"I think my parents still hope to marry me off one day and don't wish to decrease my value as wife material any further."

"That sounds terrible," Galinda murmured, stepping closer.

She paused a moment.

"But Sarima speaks Vinkun."

"Yes, she does. My Uncle belongs a small circle of noblemen who believe it prudent to stick to the Vinkus' cultural and linguistic roots. I appreciate him for that, even though he doesn't hold much love for me."

Grumbling irritably, Galinda dropped down next to Elphaba.

"Quite honestly, I don't see why everyone is fussing about your skin so much. Have they ever seen the Emerald City? The whole thing is green, green, green! And what isn't green by nature tries its best to greenify as best it can. I think your skin is b-" She had almost said _'beautiful,_' but blushed and quickly amended her choice of word. "-not that bad."

Elphaba cast her a mildly puzzled side-glance, before continuing to stare into the fire.

"Well, thank you.

"Actually, I don't think he cares as much about my unfortunate hue as my mother does. But if he were to fend for my cause and help reinstate me as the heir to the throne, his precious daughter would never become queen."

"Of course not," Galinda agreed quietly.

She already knew that this was unlikely to happen at any rate, but kept this knowledge to herself. The Princess began to chuckle to herself and the blonde cast her a questioning look.

"I couldn't possibly marry Sarima; not even out of gratitude to my uncle," she said, stating what Galinda would have considered the obvious. "Although Vinkun law does not specifically address the issue of two kings or queens ruling together, its requirements for fertility are perfectly clear. And as of present, science has not yet provided any solutions for two females trying to conceive without male intervention."

Galinda blinked, feeling rather dumbstruck. This was not quite the line of reasoning she had expected.

"You have given this matter some thought before, haven't you?" she enquired cautiously, not very successful at hiding her confusion.

Elphaba noticed and laughed.

"Fiyero once made a rather unqualified jest about it," she replied vaguely.

Galinda had half a mind to ask the Prince about it next time she saw him, but quickly discarded this most improper idea.

"No more singing tonight?" she questioned instead and the Princess shook her head subtly.

"Not tonight."

A little disappointed, Galinda nodded. She would have loved to hear and learn more about Elphaba through her singing, but she was certain that she could come up with other ways to extract such information.

"If you were to marry-" Galinda continued tentatively, but Elphaba cut her off almost immediately.

"Not going to happen."

"Because you don't want to?"

The Princess cocked her head and looked at her funny.

"I haven't even considered what I want, because the notion itself is so absurd that it would seem a waste of time to spend any thought on it."

Chuckling, Galinda leaned against Elphaba's shoulder.

"You really think that?"

"I_ know_ that," she replied, her tone and expression incredibly serious.

Galinda's smile wavered.

"So you have never considered what your ideal husband would look like?"

"My ideal husband would be blind," Elphaba deadpanned. "And deaf, I suppose. Otherwise he would hear the people around us gasp and faint wherever we go."

Crossing her arms, the shorter woman gave her a disapproving look, but Elphaba continued undeterred.

"Maybe it would also be beneficial if he had no hands to trace the shape of my body on our wedding night," she added thoughtfully, causing Galinda to stare at her in wild disbelief. "From my limited knowledge on this subject, I infer that this curveless frame is not particularly desirable."

"Elphie!"

"What?"

Galinda sat up straight, cheeks and ears flushed. When the green woman moved her head to look at her, an impish smirk appeared on her lips.

"Am I making you uncomfortable, my sweet?"

"Very," Galinda huffed. "With your excessive bluntness as well as your self-depreciation."

"In that case, I apologise. I'm used to being alone with either my books, or my brother. Neither usually complains much when I speak freely."

Rolling her eyes, the blonde once more leaned back and against Elphaba's upper arm.

"So this blind, deaf gentleman without hands… what would he look like? In other words: what sort of men do you find appealing?"

Elphaba paused for an instant, then shrugged her one free shoulder.

"I honestly can't say. I have never thought on it."

"Even if you haven't really considered this deliberately; have you never, ever seen a man and simply thought that he looked attractive?"

"No. Such a man has yet to cross my path."

"Huh."

Despite being rather limited herself when it came to contact with young gentlemen, Galinda had difficulties to comprehend Elphaba's apparent complete disinterest in the stronger sex. From childhood on, she herself had always had at least a vague idea of the traits she hoped for in her future husband.

"What about women then?" Galinda asked half jokingly, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she even had a chance to realise what she was saying.

Suddenly painfully aware of her mistake, she quickly averted her gaze, cursing Elphaba's outspokenness for being so infectious. She was hardly able to believe that she had uttered such words and within the fraction of a second, her face had turned into a very deep shade of pink, resembling that of her dress.

Elphaba didn't reply at first and Galinda worried that she might have crossed a line and affronted the Princess.

After a couple of moments though, Elphaba did speak after all.

"I'm not sure," she said slowly. "Again, I haven't given the matter any thought."

Stunned, Galinda tilted her head and watched Elphaba from the corners of her eyes. She still seemed deeply in contemplations. She felt relieved, as well as perplexed that her rather inappropriate question was being taken so seriously.

"Maybe it's time we went to bed," she suggested then, trying to escape this awkward situation.

When Elphaba agreed and got to her feet, however, she immediately regretted her proposal.

"Elphie?" she said quietly and Elphaba, who was already halfway out of the door, stopped to look back at her.

"Mhm?"

"I don't want to sleep alone tonight."

She cringed at how silly, how childish her confession sounded. What would Elphaba, all mature and strong, make of it? Would she laugh?

"I've been having nightmares. About that wolf."

Elphaba walked back towards her and sat down again. She was laughing softly, but not in the way Galinda had feared.

"You know, Galinda, your _'wolf'_ is just a dog," she clarified gently. "Granted, he's quite a big chap, but he doesn't look anything like a wolf. And besides, we don't have wolves in the Vinkus."

Galinda puckered her pink lips.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Positive. I talked to one of the officers who retrieved us. There is an outlaw in these woods and the reason why they haven't found him yet, is that he never leaves the depths of the forest. His hound drives livestock and unsuspecting travellers right into his traps."

"And that is supposed to make me feel better?"

The petite blonde shuddered.

"Perhaps my nightmares will hence forth be about the two of us being slaughtered by a sanguinary brute!"

Elphaba laughed again, this time louder, but still not in a mocking way.

Feigning indignation, Galinda lightly swatted her with a pillow.

"I'm shocked by your lack of empathy!"

"Fine," the Princess managed to choke out in between her increasing laughter, "I'll keep you company for this one night."

Galinda tossed away the pillow and wrapped her arms around Elphaba instead.

"Just one night," the emerald woman reminded her.

The blonde grinned.

"I know."

Giggling happily, she jumped up and grabbed Elphaba's hand to pull her up.

"Come, Elphie! Let's get upstairs. It's safer in my room anyway."

Instead of the most direct route, they took one that was less frequented by guests and staff alike, hoping nobody would see them. When Galinda was able to finally close her door behind them, both women released a breath of relief – Galinda's more audible than Elphaba's, of course.

"Some wine?"

Galinda sashayed over to her small liquor cabinet and poured herself a cup.

"Better not. In case we get unexpected company I'm rather as sharp as I possibly can be."

Elphaba wandered about the tiny drawing room and Galinda briefly wondered whether the stark contrast to her own room was bothering her. Fleetingly scanning the room herself, she decided that Elphaba would probably not be content with this accommodation, for it clearly lacked the broad selection of books she was so dependant on. In fact, currently there was only one book in this room and Elphaba had already spotted and picked it up. Casually, the green woman flipped through the pages of a certain biology textbook.

"How far have you gotten with this?" she asked. "Are you finished yet?"

Galinda took a sip of her wine and cast Elphaba an uneasy look before directing her gaze out of the window where nothing but the black of the night was visible. She did not want to admit that she had barely opened it, but there was no use in lying about it either, for Elphaba would surely find out soon enough.

"You know, Elphie," she began nervously, hoping that the Princess wouldn't be too upset. "I guess this must sound really silly to you, but… but I haven't had the courage yet. I'm almost too scared to even open it."

Elphaba fixated her with a long stare, her expression absolutely blank. Galinda tried in vain to gauge her mood.

At last, a small sigh.

"I see."

Elphaba sounded disappointed and the shorter woman bit her lip as her prediction was being confirmed.

"I understand that this must be difficult for your blissful, blonde brain to deal with -" Galinda cringed a little at that "- but it's necessary."

Elphaba sat down on the armchair opposite the settee and opened the book at the first chapter. She nodded at Galinda, motioning for her to sit down on the couch. The blonde complied, slightly hesitant.

"I won't let you leave here in two, three, four weeks, ignorant of the terrible things happening in Oz."

Galinda nodded mutely and, still rather puzzled, watched Elphaba skimming the first few pages of the chapter before flipping back to the beginning.

"I'll help you. Let me read it to you."

A quiet and confused _'what?' _slipped from Galinda's mouth, but the Princess ignored her and cleared her voice before beginning to read.

_"Chapter one. Nature and importance of the doctrine of filiation, or descent theory."_

Alone the title made Galinda dizzy and she barely managed to catch the next few words that followed.

_"… As we may value this influence of modern science upon practical life, still it must, estimated from a higher and more general point of view, stand most assuredly below the enormous influence which the theoretical progress of modern science will have on the entire range of human knowledge, on our conception of the universe, and on the perfecting of man's culture…"_

Elphaba's voice as she read was pleasant to listen to. No, that certainly didn't do her justice _– 'delightful'_ was a much better word. And if Galinda hadn't been too restrained to admit it, she would have said _'magical.'_

Her voice was even, but not monotonous, calm, yet passionate. Halfway into the second paragraph, Galinda would already have been bored out of her mind with the dry style the author employed to present the material. Being read to by Elphaba, however, helped her to keep up her attention. Truth be told, she would have listened all night, even if Elphaba had read out the directory for her.

_"… This doctrine affirms, that all organisms - all species of animals, all species of plants, which have ever existed or still exist on the earth - are derived from one single, or from a few simple original forms, and that they have developed themselves from these in the natural course of a gradual change…"_

Elphaba noticed Galinda's gaze drift off as she furrowed her brow and began to ponder her own thoughts.

"What's wrong? Are you still listening?"

The blonde jumped a little.

"I was just thinking… Why doesn't it say anything about Animals? Or humans for that matter. He's only talking about animals and plants."

"Later," Elphaba promised. "You have to be patient. The book is tackling all this step by step to help you understand. There is no point presenting everything to you on a silver platter. The author doesn't want to force his opinion on you, nor do I. The goal is for you to think for yourself. "

"Oh."

Galinda wiggled in her seat, hoping to find a more comfortable position. This promised to be a long night.

"All right," she finally said. "Please, continue."

Smiling, Elphaba brushed a long strand of ebony hair out of her field of vision and began to read again.

_"But however highly and justly this service of the Theory of Descent may be valued, yet it is almost eclipsed by the immense importance which a single necessary inference from it claims for itself alone. This necessary and unavoidable inference is the theory of the animal descent of the human race…"_

For the first time, Galinda's attention was piqued by the book's merit alone.

* * *

><p>The girls lost track of time and it was hours later, when even Elphaba began to feel the weariness settling in and impeding her ability to read as smoothly as she had in the beginning. And although she was pretending to still listen with rapt attention, Galinda was also struggling, yawning for at least the hundredth time, which finally gave the emerald woman a valid excuse to conclude that night's lesson.<p>

"I believe you're tired," she said gently. "There is no point in continuing this today. The book will still be here tomorrow."

She marked the page with the attached bookmark and carefully set the text aside.

Stifling yet another yawn, Galinda slid off the settee and tiredly stumbled towards her bedroom, followed by a somewhat timid Elphaba.

The blonde began to pick the pins out of her hair and brush it out. Meanwhile, Elphaba retrieved two blankets from the wardrobe, quickly fetched one of the pillows from the couch in the drawing room, and dumped them all onto the ground next to Galinda's bed.

"What are you doing?" Galinda asked bewildered, as she watched the Princess trying out her makeshift mattress.

"My bed," Elphaba replied pointing at the messy heap. "Unless you'd rather I slept on the couch outside?"

She considered their situation for a moment. She hadn't thought of this problem earlier, but now that she was confronted with it, her first impulse was to tell Elphaba to share her bed. Her sleepy mind drifted off and she imagined cuddling into the green woman's body the way she had done that night in the forest. A wave of heat hit her face and she shook her head as to rid herself of these thoughts.

"Whatever you prefer," she finally said quietly.

Elphaba bobbed her head and finished arranging her quilts.

"Do you want to go first?" the blonde asked as she regarded herself in the mirror, making sure she had succeeded in removing all of her make-up."

"_'Go first?'_ With what?"

"We should freshen up before we go to bed. After all, this is not the middle of the forest," she chortled.

"Yes…" Elphaba answered reluctantly. "Yes, of course."

"So you go first? Since you're my guest tonight, I mean."

Galinda didn't miss the repulsed glance the green woman cast at the ornate porcelain washbowl. How curious.

Elphaba scrambled up form the floor and made for the door.

"You can get yourself ready first. I'll… I'll simply wait outside."

"Um… fine. Suit yourself."

The door closed softly and Galinda shook her head, mystified.

Once she was finished, she slipped into one of her nightdresses. She thoughtfully pursed her lips, then took a second nightgown out of the dresser for Elphaba.

"You can come now," she said as she opened the door.

Elphaba jumped off the settee and patted barefoot in her direction. She wore nothing but her chemise and carried her navy blue dress carefully folded over her arm.

"Here is a nightdress for you. Do you want me to wait outside while you wash and change as well?"

"Both not necessary," Elphaba responded. "Since you came to my room quite late, I was already wearing my nightgown and only slipped my dress over on top of it. I also used the time while I was waiting just now to freshen up, so I'm all done."

Galinda made a small noise of surprise.

"How?"

Elphaba shuffled past her without much of an explanation, but in doing so left a trail of a flowery scent. The blonde sniffed the air and found that the fragrance seemed oddly familiar.

"Is that my rose oil?"

Her raised brows disappeared beneath her wavy fringe – the oil was a product she used for her hair whenever it got too dry and lifeless.

"I used some, yes" Elphaba admitted, slightly abashed. "My skin is very sensitive."

"I see," Galinda said slowly, but really, she didn't.

Both girls got comfortable in their respective beds and Galinda extinguished the lamp. They exchanged whispered words and hushed giggles (or cackles in Elphaba's case) for another thirty or so minutes, until Galinda, having finally fallen asleep, would no longer assail the Princess with her questions.

* * *

><p>The following morning, Galinda woke with a terrible ache in her lower back. She blinked tiredly and the first thing she saw was a green chest, only barely covered by the chemise that had shifted a little over night. She jerked up into a sitting position and crawled backwards, hitting her head on something hard.<p>

"Ouch!"

She craned her neck to see behind her and recognised her bed, then looked straight ahead again to watch the emerald Princess stir.

When Elphaba lazily opened her eyes, she seemed nearly as perplexed as Galinda.

"Good morning?" she said, running a hand through her messy hair.

"Morning," the blonde answered, blushing slightly.

Her memories slowly began to come back to her. She now remembered waking in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep. After watching the faint outline of her slumbering friend for a short while, she had, for whatever incomprehensible reason, climbed out of her own bed and laid down next to her. She had even scooted a little closer, imagining herself back into the tiny hut in the woods. Somehow the warmth and sense of safety that Elphaba's proximity had provided, had helped her to once more slip into peaceful dreams.

Already a clock-tick later, before the two girls even had had a realistic chance to fully contemplate the awkwardness of the situation, they both heard the door to the apartment open and soon after, a soft knock on the door.

Galinda's eyes widened and she covered her gaping mouth with her hands.

"Um… Just one moment!"

After helping Elphaba crawl under the bed, she stuffed her dress and the blankets from the floor underneath as well.

She giggled.

"No peeking, Elphie!"

She blocked Elphaba's view with the couch pillow, then discarded her nightdress and exchanged it for her silky dressing gown.

"Come in," she called her maid.

"Good morning, My Lady."

"Good morning."

Galinda greeted the other woman with her brightest smile.

"I got up early and just finished my morning toilette. Please get the light blue sundress with the pink ribbons out of the armoire for me, would you?"

* * *

><p><span><strong><em> AN:<em>**

_Credit where credit is due:_

_The passages read by Elphie are taken, almost entirely unedited, from a real book! _

_ "THE HISTORY OF CREATION: OR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EARTH AND ITS INHABITANTS BY THE ACTION OF NATURAL CAUSES" (German original from 1868 by ERNST HAECKEL)_


End file.
